GERMAN''£L^ 
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MORITZ TILING 



HISTORY 



OF 



TiiH German Element in Texas 

FROM 1 820 -1 850 



AND 



I-flSTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE GERMAN 

TEXAS SINGERS' LEAGUE AND 

HOUSTON TURNVEREIN 



FROM 1853- igi3 



BY 

MORITZ TILING 
'I 

Instructor in History, Houston Academy 



FIRST EDITION 



Published by MoRnz Tii ing, Houston, Texas 
Nineteen Hundred and Thirteen 






COPYRIGHT BY M. TILING 
1913 



©CI.A34C590 



PREFACE. 

This plain, unpretending monograph has been written 
for the purpose of preserving to posterity the records of 
German achievements in the colonization and upbuilding 
of the great state of Texas. The pioneer's humble life and 
courageous struggles are very often left unnoticed by the 
historian, yet, without his brave and patient labors none of 
the great commonwealths of the United States would exist. 
The early pioneer, whose brawny arm wielded the axe, 
who cleared the forest and broke the virgin soil, is as 
much a maker of a country, as the statesman, the diplom- 
atist and the soldier of today. His faithful work and often 
hazardous task are well worth remembering. 

The different Texas histories used in the public schools 
unfortunately are lamentably deficient with respect to the 
important part the Germans have taken in the coloniza- 
tion and shaping of Texas. Some of them, which are used 
extensively in the schools of the State, do not make any 
mention at all of the German immigration and its bearing 
on the rapid development of Texas, while others at least 
state briefly that— "Texas is indebted to her German till- 
ers of the soil for developments of great value, and which 
to Americans had been considered of impossible produc- 
tion in this climate." (Brown's School History of Texas, 
p. 218.) Prof. A. B. Faust of Cornell University devotes 
but ten pages to Texas in his History of the German Ele- 
ment in the United States. 

Thus the present generation is even now almost ignor- 
ant of the men, who went intrepidly into an unknown coun- 
try, who fearlessly braved the many dangers and hardsliips 
incident to pioneer-life and who helped to lay the founda- 
tion of the great State of Texas. 

The publication of this unassuming book shall remedy 
this deficiency with proper accounts of the colonization of 
Texas and will give credit to whom credit is due. 

To Prof. C. W. Welch I am indebted for proof-reading 
and other valuable suggestions. 

Houston, Texas. M. T. 



INDEX 

Introduction 1-2 

Texas Before 1820 3-5 

The Immigration Proper Begins (1820-1830) 5-6 

German Immigration from 1820-1830 7-11 

German Immigration from 1830-1840 12-16 

First German Settlement in Texas 17-23 

Robert Kleberg, the Founder of Cat Spring 24-29 

Cause of the Texas Revolution 30-32 

The War for Independence 33-38 

The Battle of San Jacinto 39-42 

The Immigration Increases After Texas Wins Her Freedom 43-47 

First German Societies of Texas 48-52 

The Germans in the Republic of Texas 53-57 

The Society of German Noblemen 58-62 

The Adelsverein Buys a Worthless Land Grant 63-72 

Colonization Under the Auspices of the Adelsverein 73-78 

Further German Immigration Under the Adelsverein in 1845 79-85 
Arrival of More Than 5,000 German Immigrants in 1845-46.. 86-90 

Last Effort of the Adelsverein in Colonization 91-94 

Expedition of von Meuseljach to the Comanche Territory 

and His Treaty With the Indians 95-107 

Collapse of the Adelsverein 108-113 

Criticism of the Adelsverein 114-120 

The Revolution of 1848 and Its Effects on German Immi- 
gration 121-126 

Industrial Establishments of the Early German Settlers and 

Their Relation to the Anglo-Saxons 127-131 

Houston Saengerbund (Display Page) 132 

Brief History of the German State Saengerbund of Texas. .135-159 

Historical Sketch of the Houston Turnverein 161-175 

German Day Celebration in Houston 177-181 

Works for Bibliographical References 183-185 

Landing in Galveston (Poem) 187-189 

Die Landreise nach der nuen Colonie (Poem) 189-192 

Das Lager auf der Zinkenburg, wo jetzt die Katholische 

Kirche steht, 1845 (Poem) 192-194 

Die erste Ansicdelung der Stadt Ncu Braunfels, 1845 

(Poem) 194-196 

Appendixes 197-225 



TEXAS ODE FOR DEDICATION OF THE RICE INSTITUTE 

HOUSTON, TEXAS 
OCTOBER 12, MCMXII 

By Henry Van Dyke. 



(In writing this poem Professor Van Dyke made use of an Indian 
legend. The legend is that when the Indian hears the bees in the 
forest he knows that his tribe must move on, for the whites are near. 
He lays stress upon the fact that when the white man brings his 
women, his children and his bees, lie never retreats. It is then that 
he comes to stay.) 

All along the Brazos River, 

All along- the Colorado, 

In the valleys and the lowlands 

Where the trees were tall and stately, 

In the rich and rolling meadows 

Where the grass was full of wild-flowers, 

Came a humming and a buzzing, 

Came the murmur of a going 

To and fro among the tree-tops, 

Far and wide across the meadows. 

And the red-men in their tepees 

Smoked their pipes of clay and listened. 

"What is this?" they asked in w'onder; 

"Who can give the sound a meaning? 

Who can understand the language 

Of a going in the tree-tops?" 

Then the wisest of the Tejas 

Laid his pipe aside and answered: 

"O my brothers, these are people. 

Very little, winged people, 

Countless, busy, banded people, 

Coming humming through the timber ! 

These are tribes of bees, united 

By a single aim and purpose. 

To possess the Tejas' country, 

Gather harvest from the prairies, 



TEXAS ODE vu 



Store their wealth among the timber. 
These are hive and honeymakers, 
Sent by Manito to warn us 
That the white men now are coming-, 
With their women and their children! 
Not the fiery filibusters 
Passing wildly in a moment, 
Like a flame across the prairies, 
Like a whirlwind through the forest, 
Leaving empty lands behind them ! 
Not the Mexicans and Spaniards, 
Indolent and proud hidalgos. 
Dwelling in their haciendas. 
Dreaming, talking of tomorrow. 
While their cattle graze around them, 
And their fickle revolutions 
Change the rulers, not the people! 
Other folk are these who follow 
Where the wild-bees come to warn us ; 
These are hive and honeymakers. 
These are busy, banded people, 
Roaming far to swarm and settle. 
Working every day for harvest. 
Fighting hard for peace and order. 
Worshiping as queens their women. 
Making homes and building cities, 
Full of riches and of trouble. 
All our hunting-grounds must vanish, 
All our lodges fall before them, 
All our customs and traditions. 
All our happy life of freedom. 
Fade away like smoke before them. 
Come, my brothers, strike your tepees, 
Call your women, load your ponies ! 
Let us take the trail to westward. 
Where the plains are wade and open, 



VI 1 1 TEXAS ODE 

Where the bison-herds are gathered 

Waiting for our feathered arrows. 

We will live as lived our fathers, 

Gleaners of the gifts of nature, 

Hunters of the unkept cattle, 

Men whose women run to serve them. 

If the toiling bees pursue us. 

If the white men seek to tame us, 

Wc will fight them off and flee them, 

Break their hives and take their honey. 

Moving westward, ever westward, 

There to live as lived our fathers." 

So the red-men drove their ponies, 

With the tent-poles trailing after, 

Out along the path to sunset, 

While along the river valleys 

Swarmed the wild-bees, the forerunners. 

And the white men, close behind them, 

Men of mark from old Missouri, 

Men of daring from Kentucky, 

Tennessee, Louisiana, 

Men of many states and races. 

Bringing wives and children with them. 

Followed up the wooded valleys, 

Spread across the rolling prairies. 

Raising homes and reaping harvests. 

Rude the toil that tried their patience, 

Fierce the fights that proved their courage. 

Rough the stone and tough the timber 

Out of which they built their order! 

Yet they never failed nor faltered. 

And the instinct of their swarming 

Made them one and kept them working, 

Till their toil was crowned with triumph, 

And the country of the Tejas 

W^as the fertile land of Texas. 



THE GERMAN ELEMENT IN TEXAS. 



CHAPTER I— Introduction. 

The brilliant achievements of the conquering hero, the 
records of marches and counter marches, of skirmishes and 
battles, of sieges and slaughters, have heretofore been uni- 
versally accepted as history. This is an erroneous, or at 
least only partly correct assumption, for such, certainly is 
not the history of the life and evolution of a people. Neither 
wars and conquests, nor glittering court life and elaborate 
social functions, but the quiet, peaceful and productive life 
of the people is that which makes or unmakes a nation. As 
Thomas H. Buckle pertinently says : "Nations are great 
through their architects, engineers, artists, teachers, busi- 
ness men and workers, and not through their lawyers, 
preachers, soldiers and policemen." The colonization and 
marvelous development of the United States furnish a 
striking example of the correctness of this axiom and so 
does Texas. 

A new country is no place for weaklings. Texas, 80 
years ago, was such a country in every sense of the word, 
its broad plains being then the almost undisputed domain 
of barbarous Indian tribes, whose hunting grounds 
stretched practically from one end of the great State to the 
other. It required strong arms and stout hearts to enter 
this country as a settler and perform the dangerous and 
onerous work and labor of the pioneer. 

The Texas pioneers of the 30s and 40s of the last cen- 
tury — among them more than 15,000 Germans — were such 
men, who unflinchingly braved all dangers and hardships 
connected with the arduous task of clearing and cultivat- 
ing a country that was virtually in possession of ferocious 
redskins. They fulfilled, as Colonel Roosevelt tersely 



2 German Element in TedYis 

writes in his book, "African Game Trails," the three prime 
requisites of any progressive race : "They worked hard ; 
they could fight hard at need, and they had plenty of chil- 
dren." If the Texas pioneers had lacked in any of these 
essential qualities the Lone Star State would not be, as it 
is today, dotted with the peaceful homes of more than four 
million prosperous people. 

We of the present generation, living in well organized 
cities and communities, surrounded by all the comfort and 
luxury, seemingly indispensable in modern life, can hardly 
conceive or properly appreciate the hardships and priva- 
tions of the early Texas pioneer, struggling with the iron 
difficulties and dangers of frontier life, but we have every 
reason to hold these men in cherished and revered remem- 
brance. Their noble work should not fall into oblivion. 

It is only a little more than four score years since the 
coloni::aLion of Texas, then almost "terra incognita," began. 
The pioneers of that period are all dead, and of their sons 
and daughters, the first generation of Germanic blood born 
on Texas soil, only a few remain to tell their children of 
the life and the struggles of the early frontiersmen. With 
the object that the highly interesting records of the impor- 
tant part the Germans took in the colonization of Texas 
may not be lost and forgotten, this history has been writ- 
ten. The author has been enabled to do this principally 
through the kind assistance of Prof. Gustave Duvernoy, 
who for more than 50 years has diligently collected many 
interesting data and facts connected with the early Ger- 
man colonization in Texas, and who put all this valuable 
material at his disposal. Other sources of information are 
the "Texanische Monatshefte," published by the late L. F. 
Lafrentz, William von Rosenberg's "Kritik des Adelsver- 
eins," and publications by Olmstead, Siemering and 
Ehrenberg, J. O. Meusebach's "Answers to Interrogato- 
ries" and G. G. Benjamin's study, "Germans in Texas." 



German Element in Texas 3 

Texas Before 1820. 

There have been a number of conjectures as to the origin 
of the word Texas. First, That Texas in the language of 
the aborigines means friends ; second, that Tejas, Tecas, or 
Texas, means tile-roofs, and that the country received that 
name because some of the Indian tribes lived in houses with 
tile roofs. Third, that Texas or Tecas means people, and 
it received that name because inhabited. Fourth, in an 
article on tribal names of America the National Magazine 
for August, 1873, said : "The word Techis, from which 
the word Texas is derived, is a word from the Caddo dia- 
lect, and gives title to a population which calls itself 
Kiwomi, that is, two. The name Tachis or Tecuas vv^as ap- 
plied to a native confederacy and an ancient province, 
Ticues, and is said to mean friends, just as Dacotas means 
allied or leagued." In this last statement there are two 
facts, viz : First, that the name of Texas was that of an 
Indian tribe, and second, that this tribe belonged to the 
Caddo family. Coronado, in 1540, found that tribe on the 
Red River ; he spelled the name Tayos. Joutel, in 1687, 
found the Tehas, or Taos Indians on the Sabine River. The 
map of Bellin, published in Paris in 1744, locates the Tehas 
or Teijas village on the Trinity River. The old maps of 
Texas of the last century locate the Tehas or Teijas village 
on the east of the Neches River, at the crossing of the 
old San Antonio road. It was from that tribe that the 
name of Texas was derived. 

Texas enjoys the unique distinction of having been un- 
der six flags. By right of discovery it was claimed by 
Spain and after LaSalle's expedition (1684-87), by France. 
When the Spanish colonies in America threw off the un- 
bearable yoke of their mother country (1810-1821), Texas 
became part of Mexico; from 1836 to 1845 it was an inde- 
pendent republic, then joined the United States as a sov- 
ereign State. From 1861 to 1865 the banner of the Con- 
federate States floated over its wide domain, and since 



4 German Element in Texas 

then it has prospered again under the Stars and Stripes, 
having become the Empire State of the great Southwest. 

The first attempt at colonization in Texas was made by 
the well known French explorer, the Chevalier Robert de 
LaSalle, who entered Matagorda Bay in January, 1685, with 
three ships, and sailing up the Lavaca River for about six 
miles, took possession of the country in the name of King 
Louis XIV. of France, built a fort and a small church and 
planted crops for the families and the animals and fowls he 
had brought with him. 

Among LaSalle's men was one known as Heins (erro- 
neously spelled Fliens in most Texas histories), who very 
likely was the first German on Texas soil. This Heins, 
accompanied LaSalle on his unfortunate expedition for 
the mouth of the Mississippi River, in January, 1687. When 
LaSalle was shot by Du Haut, on March 19, 1687, in the 
camp on the Neches River, this Heins took possession of 
the valuables, dressed himself in his late chief's uniform 
and offered himself as leader to the peaceable Nassonite 
Indians. His further fate is unknown. When two years 
later (1689) the Spanish Governor of Coahuila reached the 
place, where LaSalle had built his little fort and church, 
not a trace of the French men and women left there could 
be found. All was deserted. Thus ended the first attempt 
to establish a European settlement in Texas. 

The efforts of the Spaniards in colonizing Texas in the 
eighteenth century were mainly restricted to the building 
of fortified missions, garrisoned with Spanish troops and 
inhabited by priests belonging to the Franciscan Order. 
They tried to Christianize and civilize the Indians, who 
should then be utilized as a barrier against the coming of 
foreigners. The success of this policy was rather limited, 
for the converted Indians generally remained "good" only 
as long as they were within reach of the Spanish bayonets 
and rifle balls. On their hunting grounds they were quickly 



German Element in Texas 5 

transformed into the ferocious savages of old. The Span- 
ish method of civilizing the Indians proved a dismal failure. 



The Immigration Proper Begins— (1820-1830). 

Simultaneously with the independence of ]\Iexico (1821) 
begins the immigration into and the colonization of Texas 
by the vigorous Teutonic race that was destined to wrest 
this great domain from the decadent Latin race in 1836 
and build up the greatest commonwealth of the United 
States. 

The policy of the Mexican Government in respect to im- 
migration was the opposite of that of the former Spanish 
authorities. It was comparatively easy for "empresarios" 
(contractors, or promoters) to receive large land grants 
from Mexico. The only conditions under which these em- 
presarios received their grants, were that they agreed to 
pay the cost of survey and recording fees, to bring a cer- 
tain number of families to Texas within a specified time 
and to see that none but Catholics should settle in Texas. 
After the abdication of Emperor Iturbide in 1823, the 
Mexican colonization law was adopted by the Mexican 
Congress with the proviso that not more than 11 
"Sitios" (one sitio — 4428 acres) should ever be granted 
to one person; viz: One league (sitio) of irrigable land, 
four leagues of dry, but cultivable land and six leagues 
of grazing land. This provision was made to prevent land 
monopolies and on it were based the so-called "11 league 
claims" in Texas. 

The first American empresario securing a claim under 
this law was Moses Austin, who was born in Durham, 
Conn., but had spent many years in Missouri, at that time 
part of the Louisiana Territory. In December, 1820, he 
arrived at San Antonio and. with the assistance of Baron 
\^on Bastrop, he sent his application for a land grant to 
Governor General Arredondo at Monterey. His request 
was granted in January, 1821, but Austin died soon after- 



6 German Element in Texas 

ward, transferring his grant to his son, Stephen F. Austin, 
who ably and conscientiously carried out the intentions of 
his late father. 

Among the empresarios of this time were two Germans, 
Joseph Vehlein and Robert Leftwich (not Leftwick, as 
spelled in several Texas histories). It seems that Vehlein 
never made use of his grant and no records exist relating 
to any land transactions by him. Leftwich's grant dates 
from the year 1822 and his extensive lands were situated 
near the old San Antonio road, leading from New Orleans 
to Texas, betv.^een the Colorado and San Marcos Rivers. 
He built a small fort and settled a few families on his land 
in 1826, but soon afterward returned to Tennessee, where 
he formerly had lived, and died there. After his death a 
company was formed at Nashville in 1830 to carry out the 
conditions of his contract, but the Mexican Government 
did not recognize the transfer of Leftwich's claim to this 
company and gave the land to Austin and S. M. Williams. 
Four years later the Mexican Government reversed its de- 
cision and permitted the Nashville company to succeed as 
owners of the original Leftwich grant. Thereupon, Sterl- 
ing C. Robertson brought 500 families from Tennessee and 
South Carolina as settlers on this fertile land. 



CHAPTER II. 
German Immigration From 1820-1830. 

Texas was first brought to notice of the German people 
through J. V. Hecke's book, "Reise durch die Vereinigten 
Staaten" (Travels Through the United States), published 
in Berlin in 1821. Hecke, a former Prussian army officer, 
had traveled extensively through the western parts of the 
United States, and in 1818 had come to Texas, then part 
of Mexico. He remained in Texas for about one year and 
after his return to Germany published a glowing report 
about the beautiful climate, the rich, productive soil and 
the highly favorable conditions for immigration to Texas. 
He advised the purchasing and colonizing of Texas by 
Prussia in the following v/ords : "If there is a land on 
the trans-Atlantic continent favorable as a colonial posses- 
sion for Prussia, it is the province of Texas, the acquisi- 
tion of which by purchase from Spain, to which it is neither 
of use nor of political advantage, might be very easily 
made. Certainly very important results in agricultural, 
political and mercantile respects v.'ould accrue from the 
possession of a country which is greater than Germany. 
Althovigh at present there is no, or very little, civilized pop- 
ulation in that country, in a short time it would become a 
flourishing colony, if Prussia would make use of the emi- 
grants from Germany who, having become beggars, 
through the expense of their voyage and lack of employ- 
ment, suffer wretchedly in the United States. The Prus- 
sian Government should furnish them free transportation 
to Texas on Prussian ships and give them land either gra- 
tuitously or grant them support, if only by advanced pay- 
ments." 

He continues that 50 acres (Morgen) of fertile land 



<. 



8 German Element in Texas 

would not only be sufficient to support the colonist and his 
family, but also enable him to pay back in five or ten years 
all sums advanced to him with good interest, thus becom- 
ing an independent land owner. 

Urging the purchase of Texas, he writes further : "The 
sum for which this land might be obtained would not be 
very heavy, and in case the Government would not desire 
to furnish the necessary amount, the merchants, who would 
receive most of the advantage from this colonial posses- 
sion, might, without difficulty, advance the necessary funds 
to the State. Then a commercial company, like the British 
East India Company, might be formed, which should de- 
fray all expenses of administration, but also should de- 
rive all profits, and the State should only furnish the 
troops for the protection of the colony against Indian dep- 
redations, or any other hostile aggression." 

He continues by saying that Prussia could send over 10,- 
000 former soldiers, who could be given land as a gift. 
With these the colonists could form an effective militia. 
Prussia's navy would be built up through this colonial 
possession and Prussia become rich and powerful through 
its trans-Atlantic commerce. 

When we remember that the Monroe doctrine was at 
that time not yet promulgated and that Iturbide who had 
just then proclaimed himself Emperor of Mexico, might 
have been quite willing to part with the province of Texas 
for a monetary consideration, Hecke's plan of a New Prus- 
sia on this side of the Atlantic does not look like an iri- 
descent dream, and leaves a wide field of speculation of 
what might have occurred, had his ideas been carried out. 
Quien sabe ! As we shall see later, the plan of creating 
one or more German States in the immense territory west 
of the Mississippi River, then almost an unknown wilder- 
ness, was revived several times in Germany and several 
unsuccessful efforts were made to realize this idea, that 



German Element in Texas 9 

seems preposterous to us. luit seemed very probable to many 
Gennan idealists. 

In the fall of the same year in which liecke's book was 
published, 53 adventurers of different nationalities landed 
on Texas soil. This was in the month of October, 1821, 
the party coming from New Orleans. A report of this ex- 
pedition in the State archives at Austin contains the fol- 
lowing- German names : Joseph Dirksen, Eduard Hanstein, 
Wilhelm Miller, Ernst von Rosenberg, Carl Cuans (?) 
and Caspar Porton. Nothing definite is known about any 
of these adventurers except Ernst von Rosenberg. The 
expedition landed at Indianport (Indianola) and went to 
La Bahia (Goliad), where, it seems, its members were made 
prisoners by Mexican soldiers. All participants of this ex- 
pedition were heavily armed, and the Mexicans, fearing a 
hostile invasion of Texas, held the adventurers in custody 
until they received further instructions. Rosenberg was 
escorted to San Antonio. He had been lieutenant of artil- 
lery in Prussia, and when he declared his willingness to 
join the 2\Iexican army his services were gladly accepted. 
He received a commission as colonel of a regiment of ar- 
tillery, and, according to some unconfirmed statements, 
was shot after the abdication of Iturbide, while, accord- 
ing to others, he fell during the political fights that fol- 
lowed, in battle. A brother of this Ernst von Rosenberg 
came to Texas in 1849, and his descendants belong to the 
most prominent German families of Texas of the present 
time. 

The first German colony in Texas was established on ^ 
the Colorado River, about 30 miles east of the city of Aus- 
tin. Baron von Bastrop, having received a land grant 
w^estward of Stephen Austin's grant, induced a number of 
German families in the year 1823 to settle on his land on 
the beautiful banks of the Colorado. (Anton Eikhoff, "In<;_ 
der Neuen Heimat" ('Tn the New Home." published by 
E. Steiger, New York. 1885). Nearly all of these pioneer- 



10 German Element in Texas 

settlers came from the County of Elmenhorst, Grandduchy 
of Oldenburg. For 16 years, until the founding of the 
city of Austin in 1839, this was the farthest northeastern 
settlement in Texas. Here the sturdy German pioneers, 
surrounded by ferocious and barbarous Indian tribes, in 
a wilderness a hundred miles away from civilization, 
toiled faithfully and undaunted, plowing their fields with 
guns on their shoulders and performing all the hazardous 
work incident to pioneer life. When in 1836 Bastrop 
County was organized, this county comprised all of the 
present Travis County, and the five commisssioners, ap- 
pointed by the Texas Congress in 1839 to select a suitable 
site for a capital of the Republic of Texas, bought 7735 
acres in the township of Waterloo, on the banks of the 
Colorado River, where the city of Austin now stands, for 
$20,000, the deed for this property being executed by the 
Sheriff of Bastrop County. It may be of interest to note 
that when the State agent, John Edwin Waller, and sur- 
veyor, W. Sandusky, appointed by President Lamar to sur- 
vey and plot the grounds purchased for the future capital, 
arrived at their destination, they found two families, Beck- 
er and Harrel, the only inhabitants of Waterloo. Two 
miles south of Waterloo was another city with the proud 
name of Montopolis, the rival of Waterloo, also inhabited 
by two families. On August 1, 1839, Judge Waller sold 
the first town lots, substantial houses were quickly built, 
and on October 17 President Lamar with part of his cab- 
inet arrived at the new capitol of the Republic of Texas, 
received by General Sidney Johnston, Colonel Edward Bur- 
leson and Judge Waller, the latter delivering the address 
of welcome. 

The capital of the young Republic grew rapidly, quite 
a number of Germans taking an active part in the build- 
ing of the city. Many highly educated men, who had first 
adopted the strenuous life of the pioneer farmer when they 
came to Texas from the Fatherland, gradually left their 



German Element in Texas 11 

farms for the more congenial life and employment in the 
city, and the Germans of Austin have forever been a prom- 
inent social, political and industrial factor of the capital of 
Texas. 







r*CA-/S> 



CHAPTER III. 
German Immigration From 1830-1840. 

It is highly probable that some German adventurers en- 
tered Texas as early as 1800, but no records show their 
existence. An impenetrable veil is over their fate. A few 
German settlers came with the colonists brought by Stephen 
F. Austin and Baron Bastrop, but all we know of them 
are their names. The first real and productive German 
immigration to Texas was practically caused by the French 
July revolution of 1830. This Paris convulsion shook many 
of the thrones of the petty German princes and threatened 
for a moment to topple into ruins the whole fabric of abso- 
lutism carefully constructed by Prince Metternich at the 
Vienna Congress. When the storm had subsided and quiet 
again restored by the liberal use of bayonets and gen- 
darmes, a detestable system of espionage became rampant 
in many of the German States and principalities. Hundreds 
of men in all walks of life were put under rigid police sur- 
veillance, while many were even im.prisoned for expressing 
or merely holding different political views from those of 
their governments. The reactionary element was triumph- 
ant, while the progressive, liberal minded men were harassed 
everywhere. Men of education and science, university pro- 
fessors and teachers, jurists and physicians, suffered most 
from this political persecution. The press was gagged and 
literary productions subjected to merciless censure. 

This deplorable state of affairs naturally created in the 
hearts of many men of intellect and energy the desire to 
free themselves in some way from these intolerable political 
fetters. The revolution, or rather insurrection, having 
failed, these men were anxious to emigrate to some country 
with free institutions and a liberal Government, and to 
found and establish there new homes for themselves and 



German Element in Texas 13 

their families under more favorable conditions. Naturally 
their eyes and thoughts turned westward, where the ris- 
ing young republic of the United States guaranteed to 
everybody that freedom of thought and action that had 
been banished from Europe and especially so from the 
German States. 

During the ten years from 1820-1830 many highly edu- 
cated Germans, and men of means, had made extensive 
travels in the United States, w^est of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains, and their letters and reports about that new country 
proved a veritable revelation to their friends. Many books 
of travels were published, of which those of Bromme, 
Gerke, Arends and Duden were the most prominent. The 
last named, Gottfried Duden, came to America in 1824 and 
lived for four years in Missouri, then still a wilderness 
and the most western part of the United States. He re- 
turned to Germany in 1828, filled with unbounded admira- 
tion for the country he had visited and unlimited enthusi- 
asm for its liberal institutions and Government. His book 
"Bericht iiber eine Reise nach westlichen Staaten Nord 
Amerika's und einen mehrjahrigen Aufenthalt am Mis- 
souri" (Report of a journey to the Western States of North 
America and a sojourn of several years on the banks of 
the Missouri River) was published in 1829 at St. Gallen, 
Switzerland. The strict censure practiced throughout Ger- 
many, would have either eliminated much of its valuable 
information, thus rendering the book less interesting and 
useful, or, what is even more probable, might have entirely 
forbidden its publication. 

Duden gives a graphic description of the wonderful 
country he had visited, of the fertility of the soil, of its 
vast forests, its extensive prairies, its abundance of fish 
and game of all kinds, and dwells with great stress on the 
political, social and religious freedom granted to every 
settler. He proclaims the land of the Mississippi Valley 
the new Canaan, the land where millions of the poor and 



14 German Element in Texas 

oppressed would find peaceful homes and a comfortable 
living. In the preface to his book, Duden makes the fol- 
lowing caustic but true remarks about the conditions, pre- 
vailing at that time in Germany : "The poverty, the ad- 
ministrative coercion, the oppressive financial systems, the 

7 tolls and excises, form with us invisibly, and therefore 
the more dangerous, a kind of serfdom for the common 
people, which, in some instances, is worse than legally 
recognized slavery. The puerile idea that one could fill 
his pockets with gold on the very shores of America has 
ceased ; but one thing is unquestionably guaranteed to the 
immigrant ; a high degree of personal liberty and assurance 
of comfortable living to an extent that we can not think 
of in Europe. Millions can find room on the magnificent 
prairies and valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri, and a 
nature that has long been waiting for the settler and 
farmer." 

Duden's words fell on open ears and ready minds. The 
book was read eagerly by thousands of interested men in 
Switzerland, Baden, Wuerttemberg, Hessen, Rhenish Prus- 
sia, Hanover and Oldenburg and had a far-reaching in- 
fluence. The protracted stagnation of industrial life after 
the wars of liberation, the unsatisfactory social conditions 
and, above all, the intensely unpopular system of political 
reaction, had created among thousands of the higher 
classes the so-called feeling of being "Europamude" 
(tired of Europe). The time for emigration was ripe and 
Duden's book was the mariner's compass pointing to the 
proper direction for the burdened and distressed. To the 

"T former emigration for economic reasons was now added 
the emigration influenced by political and romantic ideas. 
University professors and students alike were fascinated 
by the plans of creating one or more German States in 
America with genuine free and popular life, and societies 
were formed to bring these plans to maturity. Ernest 
Bruncken in his "German Political Refugees from 1815- 



Genudu IJIonoit in Tdcas 15 

1860" states that the German immigrants of the early 30s 
came in more or less organized groups. They had more or 
less definite ideas about establishing States in the United 
States. These States might or might not be members 
of the Union, but were to be predominantly German in 
character. "They would have the Government of the 
United States itself bilingual, and if the Americans would 
not grant this — why, then the German States would secede 
and set up a National Government of their own." 
(Bruncken, Pol. Ref., Chap. 2.) 

For the purpose of furthering this wholesale emigration, 
societies were formed in different cities of Western Ger- 
many, the "Giessener Auswanderungs Gesellschaft" (Emi- 
gration Society of Giessen) being the most prominent. G. 
G. Benjamin in his excellent study, "Germans in Texas," 
makes the following mention of the objects of this society: 
"It was organized originally by a number of university 
men, among whom Carl Follen was the leading spirit. 
Its aims, as stated in a pamphlet issued in 1833, were: 
"The founding of a German State, which would of course, 
have to be a member of the United States, but with 
maintenance of a form of Government which will as- 
sure the continuance of German customs. German lan- 
guage and create a genuine free and popular life." The 
intention was to occupy an unsettled and unorganized ter- 
ritory "in order that a German republic, a rejuvenated 
Germany may arise in North America." The members 
were men of means. Some held high official and profes- 
sional positions. They sailed in two vessels from Bremen 
to New Orleans in 1834. After the arrival in this country 
dissensions arose and the company was broken up. An 
account of this undertaking is given in Niles' Register and 
shows clearly what vague ideas existed at that time." (Ben- 
jamin's "Germans in Texas," page 6.) While these Uto- 
pian plans were never and could never be accomplished, 
still the western part of the United States gained much by 



16 German Element in Texas 

this immigration, and so did Texas, then still part of Mex- 
ico. It brought to this country a great number of highly 
educated and energetic men who not only assimilated them- 
selves readily to existing conditions, but who became the 
basic element of these embryonic States. It was their 
hard and persevering labor that opened a vast territory to 
civilization and made millions of acres productive. 

Carl Follen, mentioned above, born at Romrod, Hessen, 
in 1796, professor at the University of Giessen, is known 
as the organizer of the Liberal German Students' Societies 
(Burschenschaften) and prominent political reformer and 
economist. His many works were a flaming protest against 
the reactionary system of Metternich, and as early as 1819 
he wrote his noted memorial, "Denkschrift iiber die 
Deutsche Bildungsanstalt in Nord Amerika" ("Memorial 
on the German Educational Institute in North America"), 
in which he developed with great emphasis the establish- 
ing of a German University in the United States, pointing 
out the necessity of such an institution, in order to pre- 
serve German customs and ideals in the United States, 
and especially in the German State, which he believed 
would be founded somewhere in the Mississippi Valley. 
Publication of this memorial was forbidden, but a certified 
copy is to be found in the State archives in Berlin. 

Coming to America. Follen lived four years with Duden 
on his farm in Missouri, then moved to New York and 
became the first professor of Germanics at Harvard Uni- 
versity. He was active in the first slavery agitation, and 
forever advised the introduction of German athletics (Turn- 
unterricht) in our public schools. He drowned on the high 
sea in 1840 while being a passenger on a steamer from New 
York to Boston. 



CHAPTER IV. 
First German Settlements In Texas. 

Among the first Germans who came to Texas must be 
mentioned Friedrich Ernst and Charles Fordtran, and it is 
generally assumed that the history of the Germans in 
Texas begins with the coming of these two pioneers. This 
was in the year 1831. Ernst, a bookkeeper by profession, 
was from Varel, Oldenburg, and he, like many others, be- 
ing dissatisfied with the prevailing conditions in Germany, 
emigrated with his family to America in 1829, landing in 
New York, where, for more than a year, he kept a boarding 
house or hotel. There he became acquainted with Charles 
Fordtran, a tanner, who was born in Minden, Westphalia, 
May 7, 1801, and in the spring of 1831 both decided to 
emigrate to the new State of Missouri. At that time the 
voyage from New York to the upper Mississippi by water 
was greatly preferred to the slow and dangerous overland 
route of 1500 miles. 

Ernst, with his family, and Fordtran therefore took 
passage on a ship sailing from New York to New Orleans, 
where they arrived in March, 1831. There they heard of 
the favorable land propositions in Texas, where each mar- 
ried settler was to receive one league and one labor of land 
(4605 acres) free of charge, and decided to locate in Texas 
instead of going to Missouri. 

On the Mexican schooner Saltillo, Captain Huskin, they 
arrived in Harrisburg. on Buffalo bayou, on the 3d of 
April, 1831. After a stay of five weeks at Harrisburg, 
which then boasted of five or six log houses, they set out 
to their future new home, a league of land selected by 
Ernst, where the town of Industry, Austin County, now 
stands. One-fourth of this league Ernst gave to his com- 
panion Fordtran, who also received one league from S. M. 



18 German Element in Terras 

Williams as a compensation for the surveying of two 
leagues. 

While Ernst and Fordtran were not the first Germans 
coming to Texas, they established the first permanent Ger- 
man settlement there and Mrs. Ernst is universally credited 
with having been the first German woman in Texas. Ernst 
and Fordtran built rude log houses on their land several 
miles apart, but the harmony between them soon ceased. 
Then Ernst called his place "Industry," while Fordtran's 
farm received the less inviting name of "Indolence," or 
"Lazytown," as it was generally called. 

Nothing is known of the cause of the disagreement be- 
tween these two pioneers, but the significance of the names 
given to the farms leaves room for suggestions as to the 
origin of the quarrel. Ernst wrote a letter to a friend of 
his in Oldenburg by the name of Schwarz, informing him 
about the favorable land conditions in Texas. This letter 
was published in some newspaper, and through this report 
several German families were induced to emigrate to Texas. 
(Full text of this letter in English as translated by G. G. 
Benjamin, Appendix A.) 

Ernst died in 1858, but his widow, who later married 
a Mr. Stoehr, lived for 57 years at the place where they 
had settled in 1831. She died at Industry in 1888, at the 
patriarchal age of 88 years. At the age of 84 years she 
gave the following graphic description of her family's first 
years of hardship and privation on their Texas farm : "In 
New York we had become acquainted with the old rich 
Mr. J. J. Astor, a stanch and honest German, who advised 
my husband to start a dairy if he wished to make money. 
He offered him a 10-acre lot on the East River, where 
Pearl Street now is, for a few thousand dollars on deferred 
payments, but although I urged my husband to accept that 
offer, he refused it, and in April, 1831, we came to Texas, 
landing at Harrisburg. Houston was then not even known 
by name, and no ship dared to land at Galveston from fear 



German Element in Te^vas 19 

of the Karankawee Indians (?) who inhabited and infested 
the island. On ox-carts we traveled 50 miles westward 
to the town of San Felipe De Austin, where we found one 
German named VVertzner, among the 300 inhabitants of the 
place. There we were on the border of civilization. West- 
ward and northward roamed the Indians, and no white 
man had yet risked to cross the Mill Creek. 

"My husband soon set out on an exploring expedition 
and coming to the forks of Mill Creek, where Industry now 
stands, he selected a league of land for us, being attracted 
by the romantic scenery, the pure water, and fine forests 
around. After having lived in the most primitive style 
for several months on our new homestead, we sold about 
one-fourth of our grant, for 10 cows. Now we had at least 
milk and butter, which was a real Godsend, for the con- 
stant monotony of venison and dry cornbread had almost 
became nauseating. We lived in a miserable little hut, 
covered with thatch that was not waterproof. We suffered 
a great deal in winter, as we had no heating stove. Our 
shoes gave out, and not knowing how to make moccasins, 
we had to go barefooted. 

"For nearly two years we lived alone in this wilderness, 
but fortunately we were not troubled by the Indians, who 
were quiet and friendly. In the fall of 1833, some Germans 
settled in our neighborhood, among them the families of 
Bartels, Zimmerschreit and Juergens. We naturally hailed 
their coming with great joy. 

In 1834 the following German families arrived here : 
Amsler, Wolters, Kleberg, von Roeder, Frels, Siebel, Grass- 
meyer, Biegel and some others whose names I have for- 
gotten. The first settler being killed by Indians was Mr. 
J. Robinson, the father of Colonel J. Robinson, who lived 
near Warrentown. In the fall of 1834 the Indians kid- 
naped and abducted the wife and two children of Mr. 
Juergens. who had just settled at Post Oak Point, four 
miles from here. Through the efforts of Father Muldoon, 



20 German Element in Texas 

a Catholic Missionary, Mrs. Juergens was returned to her 
distracted husband, but of the two children, no tidings 
ever came." 

The courage and perseverance of these early German 
pioneers is worthy of the highest praise. Here they were 
thousands of miles from their native country, not only in 
a foreign land, but in the solitude of a wilderness, with 
dangers of all kinds lurking around them, but unflinchingly 
did they bear all the numerous inconveniences and hard- 
ships incident to pioneer life. Their unreserved love of 
freedom was the bright star shining above them and guid- 
ing them through all the dark hours and troubles of the 
first years of frontier life, and assisted these intrepid men 
and women to battle against and finally conquer seemingly 
insurmountable obstacles. 

Ernst's settlement, "Industry," grew rapidly, and for 
years was one of the most prosperous places in Austin 
County. It has remained a strictly German town up to the 
present day, with a thriving and progressive population. 

In the years 1832 and 1833 two attempts vvcre made to 
establish settlements between the lower Nueces River and 
the Rio Grande. Both were doomed to failure. Johann 
von Rackwitz, a German nobleman from Wurtemberg, had 
received a land grant from Mexico in 1832, along the 
lower Nueces River, and had induced some German families 
to settle on his land, who had to experience all the hard- 
ships and privations of pioneer life in a new country. It 
seems that Rackwitz was more of an adventurer than an 
impresario; having no means of his own, he borrowed 
money from all sources by giving deeds on his lands as 
security and in 1834 returned to Germany, ostensibly vvith 
the intention of bringing back more settlers, but he did 
not do anything, except to publish a pamphlet at Stuttgart 
in 1836, entitled, "Kurze und treue Belehrung fiir deutsche 
und schweizerische Auswanderer, die an der Begriindung 
der Colonic Johann von Rackwitz theilehmen wollen. (Brief 



German E'e incut in Texas 21 

and true instructions to German and Swiss emigrants who 
wish to participate in the founding of the Colony Johann 
von Rackwitz in Texas.) 

After this he returned to Matamoras wliere he led a life 
of dissipation and revelry. No more immigrants arrived 
and as the conditions of the land grants were not fulfilled, 
the land escheated to the Mexican Government, everybody 
who had assisted Rackwitz finally losing everything. The 
struggling colonists were partly killed and partly fled from 
their homes, when Santa Anna's army invaded Texas in the 
spring of 1836. 

Another impresario of this time was Dr. Charles Beales 
of New York, who received an extensive land grant from 
Mexico on the Lower Rio Grande in 1832. This grant 
comprised some of the land granted to Joseph Vehlein in 
1826, of which the latter had never made any use. The 
Beales concession bears the date of October 9, 1832. In 
November, 1833, Dr. Beales sailed with a party of colonists 
from New York and landed at Copano, on Aransas Bay, at 
the end of December. The expedition consisted mostly of 
Irishmen, with only two German families from Bavaria, 
Schwartz and Wolter, and one single German, Heinrich 
Taloer, among them. From Copano the party marched 
through Goliad, then took the old San Antonio de Bexar 
trail, and, after a slow and toilsome travel, arrived at Las 
Moras on the "Beales River grant," as it was called, and 
established the settlement known as La Villa de Dolores 
in March, 1834. 

A second supply of colonists, arriving at Copano in 
August of the same year, was deterred from going to 
Dolores by the report started by a settler from Powers' 
Colony that all the settlers of Dolores had been massacred 
by the Indians. 

In the spring of the year 1835 some more colonists, con- 
sisting of three families, five heads of families and 10 



22 German Element in TecVas 

single men, reached Dolores. A saw and gristmill were 
erected and other improvements made. In September, 1835, 
Dr. Beales returned to New York to bring out colonists 
who had arrived from Ireland and Germany, but for want 
of immediate means and other causes, he was delayed there 
until the spring of 1836, and then the news of the revolu- 
tion in Texas put an end to all his plans. 

The colonists, hearing of Santa Anna's approach, became 
terror-stricken and dispersed, some going to Matamoras, 
while others joined the Texans in their fight for liberty 
and independence. The first attempts of establishing set- 
tlements between the Nueces and Rio Grande had failed. 

Some Germans, who came to Texas and settled there 
on land received from the Mexican Government several 
years before the arrival of Ernst and Fordtran, are men- 
tioned by L. F. Lafrentz in "Texnische Monatshefte," Vol. 
11, No. 2, 1906, but nothing is known of most of them 
except the recording of their land patents in the archives 
of the general land office at Austin. The first of these 
pioneers was a German-Swiss named Henry Rueg. He had 
emigrated to the United States in 1818, and having suf- 
ficient means, tried to establish a German colony on the 
left banks of the Red River in Louisiana. Having failed 
in this enterprise, he came to Texas in 1821, where he 
was appointed "jefe politico" (county judge) of Nacog- 
doches by the Mexican Governor. In Stephen F. Austin's 
colony the following Germans received land patents : In 
1824 Gabriel Strohschneider, whose title was recorded under 
the name of Gabriel Straw Snider, as he had either Ameri- 
canized his name in this absurd fashion, or was unable to 
write. In 1827 two more German names are recorded in 
the general land office, viz. : Peter Conrad and John Keller, 
both in Austin's colony, and in 1828 Peter Bertrand. It is 
very probable that more Germans than those mentioned 
here were in Austin's colony between 1820 and 1830, but 
their names can not be identified from the records, because 



German Element in Tea^as 23 

they were either misspelled by the Mexican officials or 
they changed their names voluntarily to make them sound 
more harmoniously to Mexican and American ears. 







CHAPTER V. 

Robert Kleberg, the Founder of Cat Spring. 

Among all the Germans that have come to Texas, the 
family of Robert Kleberg, mentioned above, occupies the 
first rank. For nearly 80 years members of the Kleberg 
family have helped to make history in Texas, and it is only 
fitting in a history of the German element in Texas to 
make proper account of Robert, Johann, Christian, Justus 
Kleberg, Sr. Born in Herstelle, Westphalia, on September 
10, 1803, he received his education at the gymnasium of 
Holzmindcn, and after graduating there, entered the Uni- 
versity of Goettingen, where he studied jurisprudence, and 
received the diploma of doctor juris. After having served 
in different judicial positions, he, like many others of the 
best men in Germany, became dissatisfied with the military 
and administrative despotism, prevalent everywhere, and 
decided in the year 1834 to emigrate to America. He states 
his reason for this important change in his life in the 
following language, taken from a memorandum of his own 
writing : 

"I wished to live under a republican form of Govern- 
ment, with unbounded personal, religious and political lib- 
erty, free from the petty tyrannies and the many disad- 
vantages and evils of the old countries. Prussia smarted 
at that time under an offensive military despotism. I was 
(and have ever remained) an enthusiastic lover of repub- 
lican institutions, and I expected to find in Texas, above 
all other countries, the blessed land of my most fervent 
hopes." — (Kleberg notes, 1876.) 

On September 4, 1834, Kleberg married Miss Rosalia 
von Roeder, daughter of former Lieutenant Ludwig Anton 
Siegmund von Roeder, who, too, was anxious to emigrate 
to Texas with his family. The party had first contem- 



German Element in Texas 25 

plated going to one of the Western States, but principally 
through the information gained about Texas from the let- 
ter of F. Ernst, it was now determined to go to Texas. 
His memorandum continues : 

"As soon as this was decided, we sent some of our party, 
three unmarried brothers of my wife, Louis, Albrecht and 
Joachim, and their sister Valesca, with a servant, ahead of 
us to Texas for the purpose of selecting a place where we 
could all meet and begin operations. They were well pro- 
vided with money, clothing, a light wagon and harness, 
tools and generally everything necessary to commence a 
settlement. vSix months after our advance party had left, 
and after we had received news of their safe arrival, we 
followed on the last day of September, 1834, in the ship 
Congress, Captain J. Adams." 

The emigrants on this ship, all bound for Texas, con- 
sisted of the following, viz. : Robert Kleberg and his wife. 
Lieutenant von Roeder and wife, his daughters, Louise 
and Caroline ; his sons, Rudolph, Otto and Wilhelm von 
Roeder, Louis Kleberg, Mrs. Otto von Roeder, nee Pauline 
von Donop, and Miss Antoinette von Donop (afterward 
wife of Rudolph von Roeder). The other passengers were 
nearly all from Oldenburg, one of them a brother-in-law 
of Mr. Ernst, John Reinermann and family, William Frels 
and others. They were all bound for San Felipe de Austin, 
and after a voyage of 60 days landed in New Orleans. 

To quote further from Kleberg's notes : "Here we heard 
very bad accounts about Texas, and were advised not to go 
there, as it was said that Texas was infested with robbers, 
murderers and ferocious Indians. But we were determined 
to risk it, and could not afford to disappoint our friends 
who had preceded us. As soon, therefore, as we succeeded 
in chartering the schooner Sabine, about two weeks after 
we had landed in New Orleans, we sailed for Brazoria, 
Texas. After a voyage of eight days, we were wrecked 
off Galveston Island, on December 22, 1834. Among the 



26 German Element in Texas 

passengers the opinion prevailed that the Sabine was 
wrecked purposely, in order to get the amount for w-hich 
she was insured. The wrecked boat was sold at public 
auction in Brazoria and was bought by a man who had 
come a few days afterward in the steamer Ocean from New 
Orleans for $30. It is impossible for me to name with cer- 
tainty the exact point of the island at which we stranded, 
but I think it was not far from the center of the island, 
about 10 miles from the present site of the city of Gal- 
veston. 

"The island was a perfect wilderness inhabited only by 
deer, wolves and rattlesnakes. (Kleberg doesn't mention 
the Indians of which Mrs. Ernst spoke in her interview.) 
All the passengers were safely brought to shore and were 
provided with provisions, partly from those on board ship 
and partly by the game on the island. 

"Two or three days after our vessel was beached, the 
steamer Ocean hove in sight, and observing our distress 
signal, anchored opposite our camp and sent a boat ashore 
with an officer to find out the situation. The captain 
agreed to take a few of us to Brazoria, charging a doubloon 
($20) each. I, with Rudolph von Roeder, took passage on 
it as an agent of the remaining passengers to charter a 
boat, to take them and their belongings to the main land. 
Finding no boat at either Brazoria or Bells Landing, the 
only Texas ports at that time, I proceeded on foot to San 
Felipe, where I was told I would find a small steamer, 
the Cuyuga, Captain W. Harris. I found the steamer, but 
did not succeed in chartering her, the price of SIOCO asked 
being too high. 

"In San Felipe I heard for the first time of the v/here- 
abouts of my relatives who had preceded us. Here I also 
made the acquaintance of Colonel Johnson and Captain 
Moseley Baker, under v/hose command I afterward fought 
at the battle of San Jacinto. These gentlemen informed 
me that my two friends, Louis and Albert von Roeder, had 



German Element in Terras 2.1 

located about 14 miles from San Felipe on a league of land, 
the present Cat Spring, but that Joachim and Valeska von 
Roeder had died. I found Louis and Albert in a miserable 
hut and in a pitiful condition. They were emaciated by 
disease and want of proper treatment and nourishment. 
Tears of joy streamed from their eyes when they beheld 
me and my companion. After a few days of rest I con- 
tinued my search for a boat. I had a letter of introduction 
to Stephen F. Austin and Sam Williams from a New 
Orleans merchant, but both gentlemen were absent from 
Harrisburg, when I reached there. Fortunately, I suc- 
ceeded in chartering a small vessel from Mr. Scott, the 
father of Mrs. Williams, for three trips to Galveston, for 
$100, and immediately returned to Galveston, landing on 
the bay side, opposite the camp of the stranded passengers, 
just four weeks after I had left it. I found all the pas- 
sengers in good health and spirits. They had spent most 
of their time in hunting and fishing. Those who could 
not shoot were employed to drive the deer to the hunters. 
There were deer by the thousands. 

"The next day I left with the first cargo of passengers, 
including my wife, her parents and Caroline von Roeder. 
After a stormy trip we arrived in the evening of the same 
day at Mr. Scott's place, where we were hospitably treated. 
I was fortunate to find quite a comfortable house in Harris- 
burg, which I rented, as we intended to remain there until 
all passengers had arrived from the island. 

"The last passengers did not come until the fall of 
1835, although I had hired another small sloop from Cap- 
tain Smith in Velasco, that also made three trips. The win- 
ter of 1835 was unusually severe." 

Thus ended the lengthy and eventful voyage of some of 
the earliest German pioneers from the Fatherland to Texas. 
While only the main incidents are related, they are suf- 
ficient to show the difficulties and privations to which 
Texas emigrants in those early days were subjected. But 



28 German Element in Texas 

their troubles were by no means ended. From Harrisburg 
they had to travel in ox-carts for more than 50 miles over 
almost impassable roads before they reached their point of 
destination in Austin County. Then their first task was to 
erect some houses, but, as Mr. Kleberg writes, "not being 
accustomed to manual labor, we proceeded very slowly." 
Fortunately for these settlers the Indian tribe living in 
their neighborhood, the Kickapoos, were friendly, and of 
great help to them. They furnished them with game of 
all kinds and the squaws would hunt and bring into their 
camp the horses and oxen that had strayed. 

Kleberg continues in his notes : "We had supplied our- 
selves with everything necessary to commence a settlement 
in a new country. We had wagons, farming implements, 
all sorts of tools, household and kitchen furniture, and 
clothing which we had brought with us from Germany. 
Early in summer, 1835, we had finished building two log 
houses, one of them had even a floor and a ceiling, having 
sawed by hand the planks from post oak trees. 

"We had also enclosed and planted a field of ten acres 
in corn and cotton and we now moved the members of our 
family who had remained in Harrisburg to our settlement. 
Such of our goods for which we had no room or immediate 
use, we left at the house we had rented at Harrisburg. 
Among the objects we left was a fine piano, belonging to 
my wife, many valuable oil paintings, music, books, etc., all 
of which fell a prey to the flames, which consumed Har- 
risburg during the war that followed in the following 
spring." 

This was the beginning of the present town of Cat 
Spring, Austin County, which up to date has preserved 
a thoroughly German character. Industry and Cat Spring, 
Austin County, and Biegel's settlement in Fayette County, 
founded 1835, were the first pure German settlements in 
Texas. Baron Bastrop's colony in Bastrop County was es- 
tablished some years previous to these settlements, but most 



German Element in Texas 29 

of the colonists there were Americans from the States, only 
interspersed with some Germans from Oldenburg, 

Of the pioneer German settlers in Texas, Robert Kle- 
berg was by far the most prominent and influential. Men- 
tion of his eventful career and long and useful life will 
be made in succeeding chapters. The principles which 
found expression in his whole life, rested upon a broad and 
comprehensive philosophy of which absolute honesty and 
righteousness were a controlling element, and when the 
shadows of death gathered around him, he met the supreme 
moment with a mind serene and in peaceful composure. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Causes of the Texas Revolution, 
Anastasia Bustamente, a bigoted, unprincipled military 
chieftain, had deposed President Guerrero of Mexico in 
1829, and had assumed the Presidency. Being a devout 
Catholic, he wished to exclude further immigration of 
Protestants from the United States into Texas. There- 
fore, on April 1, 1831, he issued a decree, the eleventh 
article of which prohibited further immigration of Amer- 
icans into Texas. The colonization law of 1824 was re- 
pealed and another, based on Bustamente's decree, was 
passed by the Mexican Congress. 

In 1831 Mexican custom houses were established at 
Nacogdoches, San Antonio, Copano, Velasco and Anahuac. 
By decree of April 7, 1832, foreigners (meaning Amer- 
icans) were forbidden to carry on retail trade in the coun- 
try. To overawe the colonists, a considerable body of Mex- 
ican troops was sent into Texas. Colonel Piedras, the 
ranking officer, had 320 men at Nacogdoches ; Colonel 
Bradburn, 150 at Anahuac; Colonel Ugartechea, 120 at 
Velasco. Colonel Bean had a small force at Fort Teran, 
on the Netches, and there were also companies at Tenoxti- 
clan, Goliad and San Antonio. By a military order all 
ports of Texas, except Anahuac, at the head of Galveston 
Bay, were closed. The Mexicans soon became very arro- 
gant and annoyed the Texans in every way possible. The 
commanders shielded their soldiers from punishment, even 
after their misdemeanors had been clearly proven. They 
received runaway slaves in their forts and refused to give 
them up, under the plea that they had already enlisted in 
the Mexican Army. In the spring of 1832, Bradburn ar- 
rested and imprisoned in his fort, without authority of law, 
a number of the most prominent American citizens for 



German Element in Terras 31 

whom he had conceived a dislike. Among these prisoners 
were William B. Travis, Patrick C. Jack and Samuel T. 
Allen, Vvho in vain demanded to be informed of the charges 
against lliem, and to be tried by civil authorities. 

When the Texans heard of this arbitrary act of military 
despotism, they became furious. Meetings were held and 
measures devised to effect the release of the prisoners in 
the stockade. A company was organized under the com- 
mand of F. W. Johnson, and the immediate and uncondi- 
tional release of the prisoners was demanded. This com- 
pany marched against Anahuac, when Bradburn refused 
to accede to the demand, but at that time Colonel Piedras 
arrived from Nacogdoches and as soon as he had ascer- 
tained the true state of affairs, released the prisoners. 

At this juncture, a new revolution in Mexico put Santa 
Anna in power. He proclaimed anew the constitution of 
1824, but the people of Texas were then clamoring for a 
constitution of their own, and wished Texas to be separ- 
ated from Coahuila, of which State it was then a part, and 
have Texas proclaimed a sovereign State. An election was 
held in the different municipalities in March, 1833, and in 
April a convention met in San Felipe. A constitution which 
was drafted by Sam Houston was adopted and submitted 
to the national authorities for approval. Judge Burnet 
drew up an able memorial, showing the disadvantages un- 
der which Texas labored, and the necessity for a separate 
State Government, and Stephen F. Austin carried the doc- 
uments to the City of Mexico. There the political situation 
had again changed with lightning rapidity. Santa Anna 
had abandoned the liberal party and was making strides to- 
ward an absolute dictatorship. The constitution of 1824 had 
again been swept away and the mass of the people dis- 
armed. On the 11th of May, 1835, Santa Anna won a com- 
plete victory near the City of Mexico over the last Repub- 
lican leader, Governor Garcia of Zacatecas. The Republic 
had disappeared and was replaced by a military dictator- 



32 German Element in Texas 

ship. In October, 1835, Santa Anna issued a decree sus- 
pending the functions of all State Legislatures, and cen- 
tralizing all power in the supreme government at the cap- 
ital ; the end of all State Government was at hand. 

At this period, Austin, who had been kept in confinement 
in Mexico for two years, returned to Texas. The people 
were anxious for his advice. To secure concerted action, 
he advised the assembling of delegates from all municipali- 
ties for a general consultation. This meeting, after two 
adjournments, finally took place at San Felipe on Novem- 
ber 3, 1835. After much discussion a declaration for a pro- 
visional State Government under the Mexican confederacy 
was adopted on November 7. Many Texans then believed 
that there existed in Mexico a strong Federal Liberal party, 
and the declaration was so framed as to invite a co-opera- 
tion with them in restoring the constitutional government 
of 1824. But Santa Anna ruled in Mexico with an iron 
hand and was resolved to punish the Texans for their in- 
solence. By the middle of February, 1836, he was ready 
to invade Texas in three divisions. The momentous strug- 
gle for the independence of Texas began, a struggle during 
which untold barbarities were committed by the invading 
Mexican armies and during which the young German set- 
tlements on the Colorado River and Mill Creek suffered 
terribly. Santa Anna seemed determined to destroy all for- 
eign civilization by burning and pillaging all farms 
through which he came with his troops, but the imminent 
danger of utter ruin tended greatly to unite the different 
factions in Texas into a harmonious body for the defense 
of their adopted country, in which Americans and Germans 
equally shared. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The War for Independence. 

During the five years from 1831-1836 quite a number of 
Germans had come to Texas, most of them bringing their 
families with them. When the conflict with Mexico was 
inevitable and the call for volunteers was issued by Presi- 
dent Burnet of the Provisional Government, the German 
settlers, true to their democratic character and love of lib- 
erty, responded readily. Many had been the privations and 
severe the task which these early settlers had already un- 
dergone, but their trials were far from being ended. The 
furies of war threatened to devastate their settlements, 
erected with tender care only a few years before. 

After the fall of the Alamo (March 6, 1836) and the sub- 
sequent massacre at Goliad (March 27) it was evident that 
the colonists could expect but scant consideration from 
Santa Anna and his minions. Two courses were left to 
them, viz. : Either to abandon their new homes and flee 
with their families to the United States, or fight for their 
freedom. Many of the Texas settlers chose the former 
course. To quote the historian : "The general dismay in- 
duced many brave men, impelled irresistibly by natural im- 
pulses, to go to their abandoned wives and children to ten- 
der them protection. The flight of the wise and worthy 
men of the country from danger tended to frighten the old, 
young and helpless, furnished excuses to the timid and 
sanctioned the course of the cowardly." 

Under the direction of Robert Kleberg, the German set- 
tlers of Industry and Cat Spring held a meeting to decide 
whether to fight for Texas independence or to cross her 
borders into the United States, to seek shelter under the 
protecting aegis of the American eagle. This council of 
war was held under the sturdy oaks on the newly acquired 



34 German Element in Tea: as 

possessions. It was a supreme moment in the lives of 
those who participated. They found themselves in the 
midst of a terrible panic, and they were now called to de- 
cide between love of country and love of self, and it may 
well be presumed that the debates in this little convention 
were of a stormy nature. It was principally through the 
eloquence of the venerable lieutenant. Von Roeder, and 
Robert Kleberg that the decision was finally reached that 
the men would remain to share the fate of the heroic few 
who had rallied under Sam Houston to fight for the inde- 
pendence of Texas against Mexican despotism, while their 
families should be sent to places of safety. It was a pathetic 
scene, when these brave men bade good-bye to their wives, 
who, mounted on Texas ponies, started eastward, driving 
their cattle and horses before them over the wide prairies, 
to cross the border of Texas into Louisiana. 

The muster rolls of the participants in the war for the 
independence of Texas in the State archives at Austin con- 
tain the following German names : Carl Amsler, Louis 
Amelung, Jacon Albrecht, William Ahlert, Joseph Biegel, 
Joh. Burgiesky, Joh. Baumbacher, Thomas Bertram, W. 
M. Burch, Franz Dietrich, M. Dombriski, Georg Erath, F. 
G. Elm, Herman Ehrenberg, Conrad Eigenauer, Bernard 
Filers, Fritz Ernst, Albert Emanuel, Joseph Ellinger, Carl 
Fordtran, Carl Felder, Abraham Formann, Peter Fullen- 
weider, Wilhelm Frels, Wilhelm Friedlander, F. W. Grass- 
meyer, Jacob Geiger, F. Griebenrath, C. Giesecke, J. Herz, 
Christian Hildebrandt, Moritz Heinrich, G. Herder, Joh. 
Hollien, Joh. Heunecke, Ed Harkort, J. A. Heiser, F. Heuse- 
mann, H. Halt, C. Hammacher, F. Hellmueller, Conrad 
Jurgens, Thomas Kemp, Louis Kleberg, Robert Kleberg, 
A. Kinschel, L. Krup, J- Kolmann. Joh. Kopf. L. D. Kess- 
ler, F. Keller, L. Kranz, A. Lehmkuhl, G. Luckenhoger, C. 
Luenenburg, William Langenheim, Charles Lantz, G. Luck, 
F. Lundt, F. Luders, William Mayer, Peter Mattern, C. 
Messier, J. Miller, F. Niebling, J. Oberlander, J. Peske, P-. 



German Element in J\\vas 35 

Pieper, W. Preusch, J. Reinhardt, E. Pucholaski, A. C. 
Redlich, John Reese, G. W. Ricks, Louis v. Roeder, Otto v. 
Roeder, Rud v. Roeder, Joachim v. Roeder, William v. 
Roeder, L. Schulz, H. Schultz, J. Schur, A. Stern, A. Stolke, 
F. Schrack, C. Schultz, F. Schroeder, B. Strunck, G. Sulls- 
bach. H. Thuerwachter, C. Tapps, J. Volkmar, Sam Wolf- 
enberger, William Wagner, Henry Wilke, Phil Weppler, J. 
Wilhelm, R. Wilhelm, A. Winter, L. v. Zacharias, J. Ze- 
kainski, William Zuber. 

Most of these brave defenders of Texas fought under 
Sam Houston, while the following were members of Colonel 
Fannin's gallant command, that was murdered at Goliad, 
viz: 

In Captain Duval's company, First Regiment Texas Vol- 
unteers, William Mayer, J. Volkmar; in Captain Pettus' 
company, San Antonio Grays, William Preusch, John 
Reese; in Captain Bullock's company. First Regiment 
Texas Volunteers, H. Schultz; in Captain Ticknor's com- 
pany. First Regiment Texas \'olunteers, Charles Lantz ; 
in Captain Wyatt's company, Huntsville Volunteers, M. 
Dombrinski, J. H. Fisher. F. Peterswich ; in Captain Burke's 
company. New Orleans Grays, Jacob Kolmann, Peter Mat- 
tern, Hermann Ehrenberg, Conrad Eigenauer, G. Kurt- 
mann, Joseph Spohn, Thomas Kemp ; in Captain Shackle- 
ford's company, Red Rovers, A. Winter, Robert Finner, J. 
Heiser. J. Miller, B. Strunck. 

Of the 365 men of Fannin's command, only 27 escaped 
the brutal and unprovoked, cold-blooded murder. Some 
were saved before the execution by the Mexican Colonel 
Garay, some were employed as nurses at the hospital, while 
some escaped by feigning death after the first fusillade. 
Among the latter was Hermann Ehrenberg of the New Or- 
leans Grays, who a few years after this horrible drama, 
published his experience in book form, "Texas und seine 
Revolution" (Texas and Its Revolution) Leipzig, 1843, 
which contains a graphic description of the surrender of 



36 German Element in Texas 

Fannin to a superior Mexican force, of the seven days' im- 
prisonment of the Texans in the fort at Goliad and their 
uncalled-for massacre on Palm Sunday. We quote the 
following: "On the fifth day of our imprisonment all the 
German captives were called out by Colonel Holzinger of 
the Mexican artillery, who asked them to enter the Mex- 
ican service as artillerymen, but his proposition was dis- 
dainfully rejected by all of us. What a shameful sugges- 
tion! We should assist to destroy a young Nation fight- 
ing for her rights, for her freedom of humanity ! 'No,' 
answered Mattern, our spokesman, 'if you left us the choice 
between a high office in Mexico or a life of hardship in 
your mines among your criminals, we should select the lat- 
ter, before raising one arm in a service for suppression of 
liberty. No, Colonel, we thank you, but our views differ 
widely. Our minds are going forward with the times, yours 
and that of the Mexican Government are marching in the 
opposite direction. But it is useless, your time is gone, the 
people know that it is they who have the authority to make 
laws for their governments.' 

"The eighth day of our imprisonment began. A courier 
from Santa Anna had arrived during the night, bringing, 
without doubt, the decision of our fate. We were anxiously 
awaiting the news, to be brought at once to Matamoras or 
Copano, according to the stipulations of the surrender, to 
greet again the blue waves of the Gulf of Mexico, to cross 
its placid waters, and finally to ascend the mighty Missis- 
sippi to that city which we had left seven months ago. We 
would be free. 

"To our surprise we noticed that during the night the 
cannon at the gates had been turned toward our camp in 
the fort and loaded, for the artillerymen stood beside them 
with lighted fuse, ready to fire. It was 8 o'clock when an 
officer stepped toward us reading from Santa Anna's or- 
der that we should march off immediately. Whither, was 
not stated and left to our imagination. In a few minutes 



German Element in Te.ras 37 

we were ready, and, after roll call, xve marched in double 
Me through the gloomy gates of the fort, as we bel.eved, to 
our expected freedom. Outside the gates we were sur- 
rounded by Mexican infantry on l>o"; . ^'d". ,^"d sdent y 
marched on. But the road we were taking did not lead to 
"ther Copano or Matamoras. but to V.ctona. lummg 
around. I noticed to my intense surprise that only a pa 
of us were marching with our column, while the others 
were taking an opposite direction. We had been separated. 
What waslhe purpose of this action? To what place were 
we marching? After a silent march of a quarter of an hour 
we wrned to the right toward the San Antonio River and 
when we reached a mesquite fence running: along he beau- 
riful stream, the guard line on our right side M' ba* and 
took position behind the one on our left side. Then the un- 
expected command, 'Halt!' that sounded to tjs like a death 
knell for at that very moment we heard from afar the 
rumbling sound of a volley of musketry and we instantly 
Zght of our comrades who had been led in that direc- 
Eion Astonished and frightened, we looked at each othe 
and at the Mexicans, when the second command, kneel 
down,' completely terrified us and at the same instant the 
Mexican rifles were pointed at our breasts. A second v-ol- 
lev from another direction than the first sounded in our 
ears then we heard the command, 'fire!' and then-all was 
still A thick powder smoke rolled slowly towards the San 
Antonio River. The blood of ray lieutenant was spattered 
on my clothing, and around rae my friends were writhrag 
fn agony ; beside me lay Kurtmann and Mattern breathing 
thelflast but I was not wounded. Hastily I rose and, 
proL^ed by he dense smoke, I rushed toward the nver. 
Purst'ed by some Mexicans, I dived in the clear waters, 
ftou kig 'The Republic of Texas forever,' and succeeded 
n reaching the opposite bank, although the Mexicans sent 
everal bullets after rae that fortunately missed ^eir mark^ 
After a last look backward, and a parting greeting to my 



38 German Element in Tea^as 

murdered comrades and friends, I hurried through the prai- 
rie to a nearby wood, where I was comparatively safe from 
further pursuit. By a miracle I had been saved from an 
ignominious death, and now, being under shelter, I fell 
down to the ground trembling and exhausted." 

Ehrenberg, William Langenheim and Joseph Spohn, who 
had been detailed to hospital service, were the only Ger- 
mans who escaped the ruthless massacre of Goliad. This 
cruel and wholesale murder is perhaps the darkest blot of 
modern history, exposing beyond a shadow of doubt the 
blood-thirsty and treacherous Mexican character that this 
decadent Latin race is still possessed of today, despite the 
civilization of the Twentieth Century, 

A history of the early German settlers in Texas would be 
incomplete without mentioning Squire Adolf Stern, the 
German justice of Nacogdoches. Stern was commissioned 
by the Provisional Government of Texas in the fall of 1835 
to go to New Orleans in order to appeal for assistance in 
the coming struggle with Mexico. He very ably fulfilled 
his mission. He succeeded not only in raising $10,000 from 
the people of the Crescent City, but also organized three 
companies of volunteers, the New Orleans Grays, the Mo- 
bile Greys and the Tampico Greys, a most valuable addi- 
tion to the limited fighting force of the Texans. The first 
of these companies left New Orleans for Texas on October 
12, 1835, the second following on the next day. There 
were seven Germans in these two companies. The Tampico 
Greys, as their name indicates, went directly to Mexico for 
an attack of Tampico. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Battle of San Jacinto. 

While this book is not a history of Texas and some may 
believe that special mention of the Battle of San Jacinto be 
unnecessary, the author is of the opinion that a short de- 
scription of this momentous affair, in which quite a num- 
ber of Germans were active participants, will not be amiss. 

General Sam Houston, commander in chief of the "Army 
of Freedom," had slowly retreated before the superior 
forces of Santa Anna from Gonzales to the mouth of the 
San Jacinto River, picking up during his retreat all the 
settlers who wished to join in the defence of Texas liberty. 
He was closely followed by Santa Anna. On the memora- 
ble morning of April 21, he bad under his command 783 
men, while Santa Anna's force numbered about 1600. About 
12 o'clock a. m. a council of officers met in the Texas camp, 
after which Sam Houston issued the following order to 
the little band under his command : "Today we are ready 
to meet Santa Anna. It is the only chance of saving Texas. 
From time to time I have looked for reinforcements. We 
will have only 700 men to attack with, besides the camp 
guard. We go to conquer. It is wisdom growing out of 
necessity to meet the enemy now. Every consideration en- 
forces it. No previous occasion would justify it. The 
troops are in the spirit now. It is time for action. 

"Sam Houston, Commander in Chief." 

With these brave and courageous words still ringing in 
their ears the heroic little band of Texans was ready for 
the assault. At the sound of the bugle, about 4 o'clock, the 
whole Texas line shouted the battle cry, "Remember the 
Alamo!" "Remember Goliad!" and rushed impetuously 
upon the foe. The Mexicans at that late hour were not 
expecting an attack. Many of them were taking their even- 



40 German Element in Texas 

ing "siesta." Before their lines were formed, the Texans 
had charged over their breastworks, taking their cannon. 
The Mexicans fled in confusion, leaving their camp and 
baggage to the victims. With the battle cry : "The Alamo !" 
and "Goliad!" ringing in the ears of the Texans, there 
was a fearful slaughter of the foe as long as there was 
any show of resistance. In less than half an hour the Mex- 
ican army was completely routed. 

General Sam Houston in his report of the engagement 
to President Burnet gives the following graphic descrip- 
tion of the battle : 

"General Sherman and his regiment having commenced 
the action upon our left wing, the whole line, at the center 
and on the right, advancing in double quick time, rung out 
the war cry, 'Remember the Alamo !' received the enemy's 
fire and advanced within point blank shot before a piece 
was discharged from our lines. Our line advanced with- 
out a halt until they were in possession of the woods and 
the enemy's breastworks, the right wing of Burleson's and 
the left wing of Millard's taking possession of the breast- 
work — our artillery having gallantly charged up to within 
70 yards of the enemy's cannon, when it was taken by our 
troops. The conflict lasted about 18 minutes from the time 
of close action until we were in possession of the enemy's 
encampment, taking one piece of cannon (loaded), four 
stands of colors, all their camp equipage, stores and bag- 
gage. Our cavalry had charged and routed that of the en- 
emy upon the right and given pursuit to the fugitives, 
which did not cease until they arrived at the bridge, which 
I have mentioned before. Captain Karnes — always among 
the foremost in danger — commanded the pursuit. The con- 
flict in the breastworks lasted but a few minutes ; many of 
the troops encountered hand to hand, and not having the 
advantage of bayonets on our side, our riflemen used their 
pieces as war clubs, breaking many of them off at the 
breach. The rout commenced at 4:30 and the pursuit by 



German Element in Texas 41 

the main army continued until twilight. A guard was 
then left in charge of the enemy's encampment and our 
army returned with their killed and wounded, six of whom 
mortally. The enemy's loss was 630 killed, among whom 
was one general, four colonels, two lieutenant colonels, five 
captains and twelve lieutenants. Wounded, 208, of which 
were five colonels, seven captains and one cadet ; prisoners, 
730. President General Santa Anna, General Cos, four col- 
onels — aides to General Santa Anna— and the colonel of the 
Guereo battalion are included in the number. General 
Santa Anna was not taken until the 22d. General Cos April 
21, very few having escaped. About 600 muskets, 300 
sabers and 200 pistols have been collected since the action ;^ 
several hundred mules and horses were taken and near 
$12,000 in specie. For several days previous to the action 
our troops were engaged in forced marches, exposed to ex- 
cessive rains and the additional inconveniences of bad 
roads, illy supplied with rations and clothing, yet amid 
every difficulty they bore up with cheerfulness and forti- 
tude and performed their marches with alacrity. There 
was no murmuring. 

"Previous to and during the action my staff evinced every 
disposition to be useful and were actively engaged in their 
duties. In the conflict I am assured that they demeaned 
themselves in such a manner as proved them worthy mem- 
bers of the army of San Jacinto. Colonel T. J. Rusk, Sec- 
retary of War, was on the field. For weeks his services had 
been highly beneficial in our army. In battle he was on 
the left wing, where Colonel Sherman's command first en- 
countered and drove the enemy ; he bore himself gallantly 
and continued his efforts and activity, remaining with the 
pursuers until resistance ceased. 

"I have the honor of transmitting a list of all the officers 
and men who were engaged in the action, which I respect- 
fully request may be published as an act of justice to the 
individuals. For the commanding general to attempt dis- 



42 German Element in Texas 

crimination as to the conduct of those who commanded or 
those who were commanded, would be impossible. Our suc- 
cess in the action is conclusive proof of much daring, in- 
trepidity and courage ; every officer and man proved him- 
self worthy of the cause in which he battled, while the hu- 
manity which characterized their conduct after the victory 
richly entitles them to the admiration and gratitude of their 
general. Nor should we withhold the tribute of our grate- 
ful thanks from that Being who rules the destinies of Na- 
tions, and has in times of greatest need enabled us to arrest 
a powerful invader while devastating our country. 

"I have the honor to be, with high consideration, your 
obedient servant, 

"Sam Houston, Commander in Chief." 

Of the Germans participating in this glorious battle, spe- 
cial mention deserves to be made of Colonel Eduard Har- 
cort, chief of staff of General Sam Houston. After the vic- 
tory of San Jacinto he was ordered to quickly construct a 
fort on Galveston Island for the detention of the Mexican 
prisoners. There he contracted fever, from the effects of 
which he died in the fall of the same year that had secured 
the independence of Texas. 

This is the brief history of the battle of San Jacinto, 
which, insignificant in regard to the numbers engaged, 
was of the utmost importance in its results. By this vic- 
tory the independence of Texas was won and the sovereign 
authority of the Teutonic race over its wide domain was 
firmly established. The sway of the decadent Latin race 
over a large part of North America had come to an end 
and was replaced by the progressive rule of the sturdy, in- 
telligent and industrious Anglo-Germanic people. San Ja- 
cinto was the just retribution for the outrages committed 
by the Mexicans at the storming of the Alamo and for the 
wanton massacre of Goliad. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The Immigration Increases After Texas Wins Her Freedom. 

When the colonists with their families returned to their 
former homes, after the precipitate flight of the remnants 
of the Mexican armies across the Rio Grande, they found 
their houses burned and their growing crops partly de- 
stroyed. But undismayed by their loss, most of these in- 
trepid men set instantly to work to rebuild their old homes, 
to replant their crops and with undiminished vigor started 
life anew in their now free adopted country. More immi- 
grants arrived from the Fatherland and new settlements 
were started. The families von Roeder were the founders 
of Shelby, Austin County, while William Frels established 
Frelsburg, the first German settlement in Colorado County. 
In 1837 the first houses were built on a bluff on the banks 
of the Colorado River, the beginning of the present city 
of LaGrange. The land was the property of a Mr. John 
Moore, who had come from Tennessee with the first set- 
tlers of Stephen F. Austin's colony. The next year the plan 
of the new city was made and platted by Bird Lockhardt, 
one of the settlers, and Moore waited for the inhabitants of 
his town to come. He was fortunate. A number of Ger- 
man immigrants who intended to settle in Bexar County 
were unable to cross the Colorado River on account of high 
water, which lasted for several months. Moore, hearing of 
their plight, offered to give to each of the colonists a town 
lot of 81 by 171 feet, if they would decide to stay there 
and help him start the new city. They accepted his offer, 
and thus the city of LaGrange received its German charac- 
ter that has been preserved to the present day. 

The arriving and settling of many Germans in Texas 
from 1836-39 is conclusively proven by the archives of the 
General Land Office of Texas, which contains the follow- 



44 German Element in Te.ras 

ing German land owners that had been recorded up to Octo- 
ber, 1839, besides those previously mentioned in this his- 
tory : Andreas Baldinger, Charles F. Baeumlein, Jacob 
Blum, Jonathan Buhn, P. Bugler, Bernhard Cerchner, Dan- 
iel and J. M. Cruger (Krueger?), John Cruse, Carl F. Dres- 
ler, C. C. G. Eberling, C. B. Fanger, Otto Finte, Carl 
Fledsner, Albert Friedrich, Andreas Gabel, Ferdinand Ger- 
lach, Adolf Glaveck, Gottlieb Gosche, Friedrich Gunder- 
mann ; G. L. Haas, Conrad Habermehl, John F. Harig, 
PViedrich Happle, Franz W. Hermes. F. Helfenstein, George 
A. Holzmann, Christoph Huth, John Janson, Heinrich Kat- 
tenborn, William Kieffer, John Kops. Ferdinand Kessler, 
Philipp Kestler, Jacob Kindig, D. Kerger, Benjamin F. 
Klein, H. Knapp, Christian and Conrad Knodel, Peter Knoll, 
John Kohlmann, Henry Kraber, W'ilhelm Krisinger, Teodor 
Leger, Teodor Lehmann, Carl Lunenburg, George W. 
Lueckenhoger, Henry Lotter, Friedrich Ludwig, Friedrich 
Lundt, Gustav Loeffler, Samuel Maas, Felix Martel, Hein- 
rich Maurer, Burchard, Friedrich H. and Peter Miller, 
John B. Moser, Andreas Neuschofer, Henry Orender, Z. 
M. Paul, Martin Peske, Heinrich Prosius, Heinrich Ratter- 
horn, Adolf Reiman, Franz Reimar, George Risner, A. C. 
and L. M. Rothermel, Englebert Ruhl, Martin Mumps, 
Carl Schaller, Carl Schlicht, Conrad, Martin, Valentin, W. 
H. and J. H, Schnell, Ferdinand Schroeder, William H. 
Schrier, F. Seeholzer, F. Siedekum, Thomas Silte, John 
Solberg, Franz Stadt, Friedrich Steusig, Heinrich Stauffer, 
Heinrich Stutz, Heinrich Trott, Friedrich Utz, August 
Wagner, Thomas W^eidmann, Joseph Weyl, T. G. Welch- 
meyer, Kasper Whistler, Joseph W^iehl, Johann Wohler, 
Carl Wolf, John Wyche, Friedrich von Wrede and Franz 
Zelner, 

During the year 1838 the society "Germania" was or- 
ganized in New York with the object of establishing a Ger- 
man colony in Texas. Men in all stations of life, profes- 
sional men, tradespeople and mechanics, joined this society, 



Genua n Element in Texas 45 

hoping to better their lot in the new country. The condi- 
tions then prevailing in the United States were fostering 
emigration. The hard times and the financial panic that 
followed the Jacksonian epoch had ruined thousands in all 
parts of the United States and drove other thousands from 
the country. The Germania Society sent the first section 
of emigrants, consisting of 130 people, to Texas in their 
own brig, North, from New York on November 2. The 
vessel arrived at Galveston on Christmas Day, 1839. There 
they heard the unwelcome news that a few days previous 
the last victim of a yellow fever epidemic, a German, had 
been buried at Houston, which was almost depopulated. 
This deterred most of the colonists from disembarking and 
many returned with their ship and their leader. Dr. Schues- 
sler, to New York. The more courageous remained and 
went to Houston. Among the families that settled in 
Houston, then a town only three years old, were the fam- 
ilies Usener, Schweickart, Habermehl, Bottler and Karcher, 
and a single man by the name of Schnell. 

Most of the single men from the ship North went to Cat 
Spring, where they bought lands from the Klebergs. Rob- 
ert Kleberg, returning to Cat Spring after the battle of 
San Jacinto, found his house and the outbuildings burned 
and destroyed and decided to abandon the settlement com- 
menced on the Brazos River and settle on the Island of 
Galveston on two leagues of land which were chosen there. 
This enterprise proved a total failure. Kleberg has the 
following to say about his endeavor to settle on Galveston 
Island: "We remained about three months on the island 
after building our house. Most of us were always sick, 
especially the women and children, long exposure, bad food 
and w^ater being the probable causes. Not long after we 
moved into the house, Mrs. Pauline von Roeder, the wife 
of Otto von Roeder, died there. We w-ere all down with 
chills and fever. The deer which von Roeder and I killed, 
together with the fish and oysters caught by four Mexican 



46 German Element in Terras 

prisoners in our service, were our chief means of sub- 
sistence. We had neither bread, nor coffee, nor sugar, 
and the water was brackish. Finally, under these dis- 
tressing circumstances, we became despondent and dis- 
heartened ; so, late in October, 1836, we boarded our boat, 
taking along everything we had, including our Mexican 
prisoners, who acted as oarsmen, and once more made 
for the mainland, landing at a place called Liverpool, a 
small village at the head of Chocolate Bayou. The house 
on Galveston Island was abandoned, there being no one 
to whom we could sell. There were no other families at 
that time residing on the island. There were about 400 
Mexican prisoners held there in a fort on the eastern 
shore." 

The Klebergs returned to Austin County, where they 
had made their first settlement, and remained there until 
1847, when they removed to De Witt County. Robert 
Kleberg occupied several positions of public trust and dis- 
tinction in the Republic, as well as in the later State of 
Texas. In recognition of his services and ability, President 
Sam Houston appointed him as early as 1837 one of the 
associate commissioners of the General Land Office. In 
1841 he was commissioned by President Lamar Justice of 
the Peace, which was then a far more important office 
than now, as there were few lawyers and few law books 
at that time, and important and perplexing suits to be de- 
cided by these courts. In 1846 he was elected Chief Jus- 
tice of Austin County, and in 1848 he became one of the 
commissioners of De Witt County. In 1853 and 1854 he 
was twice elected Chief Justice of De Witt County. When 
the war broke out in 1861 he raised a company of volun- 
teers, but on account of his advanced age was not received 
in active service, but finally appointed as collector of war 
taxes, which position he occupied during the whole war. 

In De Witt County the first school house, a simple log 
cabin, was built by Robert Kleberg, with the assistance of 



German Element in Texan 47 

Albrecht von Roeder and some American settlers, on ^ 
Colita Creek, near the old York and Bell farm, in 1849. 
Hostile Indians then still made occasional raids on the set- 
tlements, and the sturdy pioneers had to be forever watch- 
ful for the protection and safety of their families. 

Robert Kleberg had the good fortune to outlive this 
period of romance and adventure and to see Texas develop 
into a great State in wealth and population under the magic 
wand of civilization, with the proud feeling that he and his 
family had been active and important factors of its early 
growth. After the war Judge Kleberg passed the remain- 
ing years of his eventful life in quiet repose and com- 
posure at Yorktown, De Witt County, where he died sur- 
rounded by his family, on October 23, 1888, in his eighty- 
sixth year, and was buried with Masonic honors. His 
widow survived him 19 years, being 90 years at her death, 
which occurred July 3, 1907. 



CHAPTER X. 
First German Societies in Texas. 

The Germans are pre-eminently a sociable people. They 
cultivate with reverence the strongest family life and family 
ties, and are bound together in friendship by innumerable 
social, benevolent and literary societies and secret orders. 
In all of these societies the "Gemiitlichkeit," a term best 
translated by ''good fellowship," predominates, diffusing 
good cheer among their members. In every city or town 
in Germany there exist several singing societies, athletic 
and gun clubs, social, literary, political and secret organi- 
zations, all established for the purpose of promoting good 
comradeship and rendering assistance to the needy. This 
commendable trait made itself felt with undiminished force 
among the Germans in Texas. After the first few strenu- 
ous years had passed and the German settlements had been 
firmly established the German's love for sociability, in- 
tellectual entertainment, mutual protection and pleasure 
asserted itself. 

The city of Houston founded in August, 1836, by A. C. 
and J. K. Allen, had become quite a town in the short 
space of four years. Situated at the head of navigation 
of Buffalo bayou, it had direct water communication by 
small craft with the sea and Galveston Island, where 
the emigrants were landed. None of them remained on the 
island, which, up to 1839, was uninhabited. All immi- 
grants had to take passage in smaller ships to Harrisburg 
or Houston, most of them preferring the latter place, 
which then (1837-1839) was not only the capital of the 
young Republic, but was also farther inland than Harris- 
burg. Quite a number of German immigrants stayed in 
Houston and materially assisted in increasing its population. 

By the year 1840 Houston counted among its inhabi- 



German Element in Texas 49 

tants more than 75 Clerman families and single men. What, 
then, was more natural than to organize a "Verein"? Con- 
sequently a preliminary meeting was held on Sunday, No- 
vember 22, 1840, in the German boarding house of Franke 
& Lemsky, corner of Prairie Avenue and Travis Street, at 
which great enthusiasm prevailed. The organization of a 
German Society was definitely decided upon, and George 
Fischer, Henry F. Fischer, Charles Gerlach, Conrad Franke 
and Thcodor Miller were appointed a committee on organi- 
zation and instructed to draft a constitution and by-laws 
to be presented to the next meeting and to ask all Ger- 
mans living in Houston to become members of the pro- 
posed society. 

On Sunday, November 29, this society was definitely 
liuuiched under the name "Deutscher Verein fiir Texas" 
(German Society of Texas). Its main object, as stated in 
article II of its constitution, was the giving of assistance 
to the sick and needy, to promote the material and intel- 
lectual welfare of the Germans and to assist newcomers 
with advice and necessary aid and succor. 

This was the first German Society in Texas. It began 
its long career of usefulness with the following 53 mem- 
bers : George Fischer, Theodor Miller, Henry F. Fischer, 
Charles Gerlach. Conrad Franke, Robert H. Levenhagen, 
Henry Levenhagen, Jacob Schroeder, Joseph Sandman, 
Gottlieb Gasche, Martin Rumpff, William Schroeder, I. 
Hermann. Gustav Erichson, Jacob Buchmann, I. I. Knoll, 
A. Jung, Emil Simmler, Friedr. Otto. Ch. Rienitz, Charles 
Baumann, Henry A. Kuykendall, Wendelin Bock, Ulrich 
Fischer. Karl Fischer, John H. Mueller, Friedr. Schier- 
mann, John Koop, Daniel Super, Joseph Ehlinger, Johann 
Buhn, Anton Brueggemann. William Ewald, Casper Ger- 
lach, Friedr. Lemsky, Friedr. Barthold, Dr. K. Hermann 
Jaeger, Abraham Brodbeck, Johann Grunder, Christian 
A. Kasting, Peter Dickmann, William Weigand, Ant. E. 
Spellenberg, Peter Bohl, Johan William Schrimpf, Dr. L 



50 German Element in TeiVas 

Anton Fischer, Dr. De Witt, A. Schanten, Johann Schwei- 
kart. 

The first president of the German Society was George 
Fischer (he spelled his name Fisher) who, at the town 
election held on July 8, 1839, had been elected Mayor of 
Houston, with 115 votes cast for him, while his strongest 
opponent, George W. Lively, received 112 votes, Z7 being 
cast for Moreau Forest and 65 for William Bronaugh. 
This gave Fischer only a plurality of votes, although this 
election w^as the second held for this office within two 
weeks; in the first election, held on July 1, eight candi- 
dates had aspired to become the administrative head of the 
rising city, but the result had been very undecisive, the 
votes being scattered among the eight candidates. 

The result of the second election was also contested and 
the "Morning Star" upon this occasion wrote : "The elec- 
tion of mayor of this city, held on Saturday last, which re- 
sulted in favor of George Fisher, was contested before the 
board of aldermen yesterday, on points of law in such 
cases provided, and set aside ; consequently, the chief jus- 
tice of the county will take such steps as the law requires 
to order a new election to be held. This, then, will have 
been the third election holden in this community for the 
same office within three weeks or upwards before the 
will of the people can be ratified. We trust that no neg- 
ligence to ascertain and observe the laws regulating such 
election shall occasion us the strife and bickerings of an- 
other contest after the next one shall have been decided." 

The third election took place July 22, George W. Lively 
receiving 176, George Fisher 127 votes. The first board of 
officers of the German Society consisted of of the follow- 
ing: George Fisher, president; Harry Levenhagen, first 
vice president ; Theodore Miller, second vice president ; 
Henry F. Fischer (Fisher), secretary, and John Koop, 
treasurer. The scope of the society remained localized, but 
as many of the German immigrants to Texas up to the 



German Element in Te.vas 51 

60s passed through Houston when going into the interior 
of the State, it was of material assistance to many of the 
newcomers by giving them the often greatly needed advice 
and succor. During the war between the States the society 
was defunct, but was revived in 1866 as the "Houston 
Deutsche Gesellschaft" and as such existed until the close 
of the last century. 

The desire of a closer union of the Germans in Texas led 
to the forming of the Teutonic order, which was organized 
in 1841 by some settlers of Industry and Cat Spring. The 
fundamental principle of this order was the uniting of all 
Texas Germans into one society with strong Germanistic 
tendencies and thus not only preserving the German char- 
acter and individuality, but making the Germans a strong 
political factor in Texas. 

In an account of the order, published by Fritz Ernst of 
Industry, he says : "It remains for the Germans in Texas 
either to become entirely changed, so as to be called 
Americans, or to make an attempt in a social way among 
the Germans living here, to form a New Germany. The 
former, appears to us, as certainly to all good and true 
Germans, as entirely impossible and must remain com- 
mitted to our posterity, while the latter can only be possible 
and practicable, if all our countrymen be united collectively 
through a common bond. Concord of thought and action, 
that disappear but too easily in a foreign land, must be 
re-established among them and the conscientiousness of 
their German worth be incited. Since the population of 
Texas consists of immigrants from different countries who 
must all consider themselves here as foreigners, it appears 
that this plan can be carried out more easily in Texas than 
in North American free States, where a generation born 
there is the leading race." 

Gustav Koerner in his book, "The German Element in 
North America from 1818-1848." stated the purpose of the 
order as "the preservation of German natural individuality, 



52 German Element in Texas 

the furtherance of German immigration and the facilitation 
of correspondence between Texas and Germany." — (Koer- 
ner, page 359.) 

The order was made up of several degrees. Admission 
to the second and third degrees was conditioned on talent, 
ability and education. The less educated Germans were 
almost barred from passing beyond the first degree. The 
order existed only a few years. The foremost causes of 
the failure were the evident class distinction between the 
different degrees and the difficulty of communication be- 
tween settlements hundreds of miles apart. 

Although the Teutonic Order was a failure, it clearly 
demonstrated the tendency of the German immigrants of 
the first half of the last century to try the establishment 
of a New Germany on this side of the Atlantic. Hecke, 
in his book, had advised the purchase of Texas by Prussia 
in 1821. Duden and the "Giessener Auswanderungs-Ge- 
sellschaft" in 1832, strongly advocated the establishment 
of one or more German States in the Mississippi Valley 
or Texas, and the founders of the Teutonic Order were 
cherishing similar hopes in 1841. The rapid increase in 
the American population in Texas and the joining of the 
Republic to the United States in 1845 put an effective stop 
to these aspirations. 



CHAPTER XI. 
The Germans in the Republic of Texas. 
Texas was an independent Republic from 1836 to 1845. 
During these nine years it was forever struggling hard for 
its existence. By far the greater part of its extensive do- 
main was still a wilderness in undisputed possession of 
the Indians, while, in the settled portion of the great State, 
many European nationalities, Americans from the United 
States. Mexicans and negroes, the latter as slaves, were 
represented. It is impossible to give a correct number 
of the inhabitants of Texas at that time, as no reliable cen- 
sus figures exist. The statements of travelers in reference 
to the population of Texas are based only on their personal 
observations and differ considerably. But we can assume 
as nearly correct that Texas had about 52,000 white in- 
habitants in 1836 and 150.000, including the slaves, in 1845, 
when it was annexed to the United States. On March 2, 
1837, the United States had acknowledged the independence 
of Texas and in 1840 France and Belgium recognized 
Texas as a sovereign State, but Mexico repudiated the 
agreement between Santa Anna and President Burnet, by 
which Texas was declared independent of Mexico, and held 
Texas as being a province in revolt, and at different times 
sent military parties into the country. According to the 
best information obtainable, there were 10,000 Germans 
in Texas in 1840 and about 20,000 in 1845. According to 
statistics from 1832 to 1846, 100,000 Germans immigrated 
from Bremen to America, while many also sailed on ships 
from Hamburg. During the six years from 1840 to 1846 
there arrived at Galveston from Bremen alone 7161 Ger- 
man immigrants, among them many men of culture and 
refinement who had received a college or university edu- 
cation. They were all induced to seek these shores through 



54 German Element in Teocas 

love of liberty and partly through the glowing accounts of 
travelers w^ho had traversed Texas and in their reports 
did not hesitate to pronounce it the finest country on 
earth, suitable in every way for colonization by Europeans. 

The government of Texas was confronted from the be- 
ginning with the constant low ebb of public funds and 
the difficulty of raising the State's revenues. Several ef- 
forts of securing public loans from the United States and 
England had either failed or proved insufficient, as Texas 
could pledge as security nothing but millions of acres of 
land that were of but little actual value at that time, as 
there was nobody to cultivate them. The import trade 
of Texas was insignificant and the receipts from import 
duties were hardly sufficient to pay for the expenses of 
collection. The public debt constantly increased and the 
authorities were in a quandary. The only possibility to 
raise sufficient revenues and put the administration on 
a self-sustaining basis, seemed to be in the rapid coloniza- 
tion of the vast and fertile lands belonging to the State. 
It may be added here parenthetically that the inherent 
rights of the Indians to certain territory were as ruthlessly 
disregarded by Texas, as anywhere in the United States. 
The Red men simply had no right whatever to their lands 
and hunting grounds, when the white man wanted them. 

In harmony v/ith the colonization plan of the adminis- 
tration the Texas Congress of 1837 passed a colonization 
law, similar to the Mexican law of 1824. Each immigrat- 
ing family was to receive 320 acres of tillable land, each 
single man 160 acres ; large grants v/ere to be made to 
promoters under the condition of bringing a certain num- 
ber of settlers to Texas in a specified time. If this con- 
dition was complied with to the satisfaction of the General 
Land Office, the State would give the promoter and the 
colonists full and undisputed title to the land granted. This 
liberal land policy proved successful, increasing the popu- 
lation of the Republic from 52,000 in 1836 to 150,000 in 



German Element in TecVas 55 

1845, with Txiore than 20,000 Germans included in this num- 
ber. The actual number of inhabitants of German blood 
was far greater than 20,000, for this number does not in- 
clude the children of the immigrants born in Texas, who 
were considered Texans, and in the later census figures 
of the United States, were recognized as native born 
Americans. 

In making of land grants the Government did not always 
act fairly and can not be spared the just criticism of par- 
tiality. The more valuable and better protected lands in 
East Texas were generally reserved for settlers from the 
United States, while the immigrants from Europe, in the 
main Germans and several thousand Frenchmen, were given 
lands in West and South Texas, to act as a bulwark against 
Indian and Mexican attacks. 

The early German immigrants to Texas were mostly 
agriculturists, with an occasional mixture of mechanics and 
operatives, but, as Francis J. Grund, in his book, "The 
Americans," published in 1837, says : "The late unfor- 
tunate struggle for liberty in Germany has, within the last 
five or six years caused the expatriation of a more in- 
telligent class. Settlements have been made in America 
by a body of Germans whose education fitted them rather 
for the drawing room and the closet than for the hard- 
ships of cultivating the soil ; yet they have cheerfully em- 
braced their new vocation." 

Although Grund refers only to some German settlements 
in Illinois and the upper Mississippi Valley, his words ap- 
ply with the same force to Texas, and it v/as principally 
through the directing power of these educated men that the 
Germans exerted quite an influence in the days of the 
Republic of Texas. 

In 1843 the Texas Congress ordered the laws of Texas 
to be published in German, and when the Germans began 
an active campaign for the founding of a German Uni- 
versity in Texas, the administration looked favorably on 



56 German Element in Te.vas 

the project, which, of course, seems to have been somewhat 
Utopian. On January 27, 1844, the Texas Congress granted 
a franchise to the '"Herrmann University," which was to 
be the "ahna mater" of philosophy, medicine, theology and 
jurisprudence. The professors of these four faculties must 
be competent to lecture in both the English and German 
languages, while the professors of theology should not 
belong to a special religious denomination nor teach doc- 
trines of any sect. Section 7 of the act authorizing the 
university stated the following, viz : "Section 7. Be it 
further enacted that no person shall be eligible to a pro- 
fessorship in said university who does not understand both 
the German and English languages, unless by a unanimous 
vote of the trustees such qualifications shall be disregard- 
ed." This shows plainly the influence and prominence ac- 
corded to the German element in Texas at this early period. 

The location of the prospective university should be 
somewhere between the Mill and Cummings Creeks in the 
present Austin, Colorado or Washington Counties. To the 
board of regents of the university the authority was granted 
to levy an excise on spirituous liquors within a radius of 
50 miles from the university and a large land grant was 
issued for its benefit. The management was to consist of 
one president and 12 trustees. As incorporators of the in- 
stitution are named : L. C. Ervendberg, F. Ernst, H. 
Schmidt, H. Amthor, J. G. Lieper, G. Stoehr, F. W. Hues- 
mann and E. Franke. 

So far everything seemed propitious for the undertaking, 
but when the trustees tried to sell the "university shares" 
they met with insurmountable obstacles. The shares at the 
par value of $50 could only be sold for land in exchange ; 
nobody paid in cash, money being too scarce. But it was 
ready cash that the trustees needed, and not land, of which 
the university had plenty. The attempt to raise the neces- 
sary funds proved a failure, and in January, 1846, the fran- 
chise v.'as annulled, but was renewed on April 11, 1846. 



German Element in Texas 57 

This time the incorporators were : H. Amthor, E. Franke, 
H. Draub, H. Ernst, Jacob Rien, E. Miller, E. H. Yordt, 
Dr. E. Becker, William Trieb, Charles Yordt, Hermann 
Frels and Ed Ruhmann. 

To make the shares more attractive, the subscription 
price was reduced from $50 to $15. The trustees succeeded 
in obtaining enough money to build a large, two-story stone 
building in Frelsburg, but that was all. This building was 
later used for the public school of Frelsburg, and thus ful- 
filled its mission in some way, even if it did not bear the 
proud name of "university." 

The plan of establishing a higher institution of learning 
in Texas in 1845 was premature and not feasible. The Lone 
Star State had then but a few years ago emerged from the 
darkness of primitive existence and the magic wand of 
civilization had but lightly touched it. Even if the trus- 
tees had succeeded in procuring sufficient funds for the 
equipment of the university, there would have been a re- 
markable scarcity of students. There were no schools in 
Texas that could prepare pupils for college or universities. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Society of German Noblemen. 
(Mainzer Aldesverein.) 

The German literature about Texas was constantly grow- 
ing. In a preceding chapter the publications of Hecke, 
Duden, Arends and Bromme were mentioned, all published 
between 1821 and 1833. To these were now added the 
books/ of F. Hoehne, "Reise Ueber Bremen Nach Nord 
Amerika und Texas" ("Voyage Over Bremen to North 
America and Texas, From 1838-1841"), "Das Kajueten- 
buch" ("The Cabinbook"), by Charles Sealsfield (Carl 
Postl), published in Zurich, 1841 ; Hermann Ehrenberg's 
"Der Freiheitskampf in Texas" ("The War for Texas' In- 
dependence"), Leipzig, 1844; G. A. Scherpf's "Origin and 
Present Condition of the New State of Texas," published 
in Augsburg, 1841, and numerous other works of travel. 
Texas was better advertised and discussed more in Ger- 
man, than any other State of North America. All these 
books were eagerly read, and as the political, industrial 
and social conditions in Germany had not improved since 
1830, "the mania for emigration," as it was called, in- 
creased, and many people were preparing to leave different 
parts of Germany. 

In the novel, "Nathan, the Squatter," published in 1837, 
Sealsfield dwelt with much emphasis on the picturesque 
life of the pioneer and the idyllic scenes of life in the 
thinly populated territory of Texas. We quote the following 
glowing description of a settlement: "On the level summit 
of the ridge were situated the plantations of the v,'ealthier 
planters, and a more beautiful or more favorable settle- 
ment you could not imagine. On one side lay v.'hat are 
called clearing lands, from which the primitive forest had 
just been removed ; on the other, immense prairies with the 



German Element in Terras 59 

tall grass waving about the heads of the browsing cattle, 
and horses that were pulling and tumbling against each 
other like rolling stones ; the sound of tinkling cowbells 
came to our ears in the gentle breeze, and in the far blue 
distance a thick fog was seen glimmering in the sunbeams 
through every opening of the vast forest. There was 
something charming and irresistible in the landscape." 

"With the wreck of our fortune, as little as it was com- 
petent to support us at home, here it was amply sufficient 
to gratify every wish of the heart — here I could prepare a 
home for my betrothed, far from the injuries and storms 
of the world." 

"I found the rudiments — the A B C of squatter life — in 
the clearings, in the woodland and in the live oaks ; the 
spelling book in the rude and artless dwellings, in the 
rough furniture made by the backwoodsman himself, in 
the horses and in the corn stubbles. I saw plainly that 
I had only to do as the squatters had done to accomplish 
the same ends. He only, who has to solve the difficult prob- 
lem of getting along in the backwoods, can form an idea 
of the childish haste with which I pounced on every object. 
The log house had irresistible charms. I was in an ecstacy 
at the thought of the time when my beloved family, in 
their plain and simple robes, would come to meet me at 
the cabin door, as I returned from the field." 

The above may suffice as a fair example of how Texas 
and the settlers' life were praised in the different publica- 
tions of that time. The sentimentality expressed was in 
full accord with the trend of German feeling during the 
first half of the last century. It was the age of affected 
sensibility and lyric poetry, and these books could not but 
leave a deep impression on their numerous readers. 

We have now reached the most intei^sting stage of the 
German immigration to Texas. On April 20, 1842, 14 
German Princes and noblemen met at Biebrich, on the 
Rhine, in a conference, the result of which was the form- 



60 German Element in Teooas 

ing of a provisional association for the purchase of lands 
in Texas. The following document was signed by those 
present : 

"We, the undersigned, hereby make known that we have 
today associated ourselves and are constituted as a society 
for the purpose of purchasing lands in the free State of 
Texas. Biebrich, April 20, 1842." 

This was the beginning of the society for the protec- 
tion of German emigrants to Texas, which was formed 
at a general meeting held at Mainz on March 24, 1844. As 
only princes and representatives of the higher nobility could 
become members of it, the society became generally known 
as the "League of the Nobility" (Adelsverein), of which 
the following 21 noblemen were the original members, viz.: 

Duke Adolf of Nassau, Duke Bernhard Erich of Mein- 
ingen, Duke August Ernst of Saxe Coburg, Prince Frederic 
W'illiam Ludwig of Prussia, Prince Giinther of Schwarz- 
burg-Rudolstadt, Prince Carl zu Leiningen, Prince Her- 
mann von Wied, Prince Ferdinand von Solms-Braunfels, 
Prince Franz von Collerado-Mansfield, Prince Otto Victor 
von Schoenberg-Waldenburg, Prince of Solms-Braunfels 
Rheingrafenstein, Prince Alexander von Solms-Braunfels, 
Count Christian von Alt-Leiningen-Westernburg, Count 
Carl von Isenburg-Meerholz, Count Edmund von Hatzfeld, 
Count Carl William von Inn und Knyphausen-Lutelsberg, 
Count Armand von Rennessee, Count Carl von Castell and 
Baron Paul Scirnay. 

The Duke of Nassau accepted the protectorate of the 
society, Prince Leiningen was elected president and Count 
Castell secretary and general manager. By a ministerial 
rescript of the Duchy of Nassau the society was incorpor- 
ated on March 3, 1844. It was capitalized at 200,000 gul- 
den ($80,000), consisting of 40 shares at 5000 gul- 
den ($2000) each. Shortly after the first meeting at Bie- 
brich in 1842, the "Adelsverein," as this galaxy of princes 
and noblemen will henceforth be called, had dispatched 



German Element in Texas 61 

Counts Victor von Leiningen and Boos-Waldeck to Texas 
with ample funds and full power to purchase land from 
the Texas Government. They arrived in Galveston in the 
beginning of September, and in Houston on September 13, 
from which place both went to San Felipe de Austin and 
Industry. From there Count Leiningen went to Austin to 
confer with President Sam Houston in reference to land 
grants and special concessions he expected to receive for 
the colonization project of the Adelsverein. It is very 
probable that he would have succeeded if he had not made 
the mistake of asking too much. One of his demands 
was that the colonists should be exempt from taxation for 
a number of years. This, of course, could not be granted, 
as the liberal land policy of Texas had for its main ob- 
ject the quick increase of the State's revenues, of which 
the Administration was sorely in need. If Count Leinin- 
gen had been properly advised, or if he had shown some 
business ability and consideration for existing conditions, 
there can be but little doubt that he would have succeeded 
in obtaining the desired land grant from President Hous- 
ton and thus a great deal of expense and trouble would 
have been saved the Adelsverein. But fate had decreed 
differently. After his negotiations at Austin had termi- 
nated without any results, Leiningen returned to Germany 
in 1843, and reported favorably for a wholesale coloniza- 
tion in Texas. A wholesale colonization without a foot of 
ground belonging to the Verein ! 

Count Boos-Waldeck in the meantime, following the 
advice of Mr. Ernst, the founder of Industry, had bought 
in Fayette County a fine plantation of 4428 acres for 54,- 
000 gulden ($22,000), which he christened "Nassau," and 
which was destined to play an important part in the history 
of the Adelsverein. A large dwelling house, stables, barn 
and outhouses were on the farm, which was cultivated by 
negroes, Avho also became the property of the Adelsverein. 

Boos-Waldeck returned to Germany in 1844 and in his 



62 German Element in TeaYis 

report advised against a colonization on an extensive scale 
because the expenses of such an undertaking- would be too 
high. Unfortunately his warning voice was disregarded 
and the vague proposition of Count Leiningen adopted. 
The unpardonable carelessness, not to say imbecility, of 
the managers of the Adelsverein, in carrying out their plan 
will be demonstrated in succeeding chapters. 

West of San Antonio a Frenchman by the name of 
Henry Castro had received a land grant and established 
there a colony of Alsatians and Belgians. North of it 
another Frenchman, Bourgeois (d'Orvanne) had received 
another grant that was forfeited in 1843 for noncompliance 
with its conditions. North of this grant, in the present 
counties of Kendall and Gillespie, Count Leiningen was 
offered a grant, but refused to accept it on the ground 
that it was too far west and too far from the sea. While 
this objection was well founded, still he should have either 
accepted the offer, as he was told that he could receive no 
other grant, or his advice to the Adelsverein should have 
been asfainst a wholesale colonization. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Adeisvereia Buys a Land Grant Which Proves 
Worthless. 

When the recommendations of Count Waldeck were re- 
jected by the officers of the Adelsverein, he withdrew as 
a member of the society. This was rather unfortunate 
for the "Verein," as it seems that he was the only mem- 
ber with a fair understanding of the conditions in Texas 
and the proper requirements for a successful colonization. 
The affairs of the Adelsverein from now on were exclu- 
sively in the hands of its general manager, Count Castell. 
It is a mooted question whether his boundless enthusiasm 
for the project carried him beyond the limits of prudence 
and caution, or whether he possessed any business ability 
at all, acting simply under orders of his superiors. Be that 
as it may, his business transactions proved ruinous for the 
Adelsverein. During the summer of 1843 there arrived in 
Germany a Frenchman, named Bourgeois, who had 
come directly from Texas and who had a land 
— or colonization — grant from the Republic west of San 
San Antonio. He had ennobled himself by adding the 
suffix d'Orvanne, to his name. Presenting himself to 
Count Castell as the Chevalier Bourgeois d'Orvanne, he 
quickly enthralled Castell by his eloquence and the glow- 
ing description of his grant, which, as he stated, had un- 
limited possibilities for colonization. This concession he 
offered to sell to the Adelsverein. When he did that the 
time limit for colonization under his grant had almost ex- 
pired. The grant to Bourgeois was dated July 3, 1842, 
and under its conditions he had to settle 400 families on 
the land during the 18 months following. The time, there- 
fore, expired on December 3, 1843, but he declared it would 
be an easy matter to receive an extension of the time limit 



64 German Element in Texas 

on application, from President Sam Houston, who was his 
personal friend. After many conferences deferred through 
the customary procrastination in official matters, Bour- 
geois' land concession w'as finally bought by the Adels- 
verein on April 7, 1844, after it had virtually expired four 
months previously and contrary to the advice of Count 
Waldeck. 

Then the Adelsverein issued the following program, 
which was published in many newspapers of Germany. 
"An association has been formed having for its aim to 
guide as much as possible immigration into one favor- 
able direction, to support the immigrants during their long 
journey, and to secure for them new homes across the 
sea. 

"The association does not publish this announcement 
with a view to procure funds for their undertaking — the 
necessary capital having already been signed — but, con- 
scious of a righteous cause, the association feels in duty 
bound to itself and the public, to lay before the latter the 
motives that have called this association into existence, 
the ways and means by which they hope to effect their 
object and the principles by which they are guided. 

"The association neither means to further, nor excuse 
the tendency for emigration. That the exigency exists 
can neither be denied nor checked. Many causes are at 
work to bring this condition about. Manual labor being 
suppressed by machinery ; the great, almost periodic, crises 
that overwhelm commerce ; the increasing poverty as a re- 
sult of over population! and lack of employment, and 
finally perhaps the much lauded richness of the soil in the 
new world ; but, above all, an expectation, sometimes real- 
ized, but just as often deceived, of a happier life across 
the ocean. 

"Under such circumstances the emigrants would cer- 
tainly better their lot, if, by keeping together in a well or- 
ganized body, they could find proper guidance and pro- 



German Element in Texas 65 

tection in the foreign land. Thus the necessity for the as- 
sociation and its aims arc at once explained. It wishes to 
regulate and guide emigration for the purpose of the Ger- 
mans finding a German home in America, and that by main- 
taining an unbroken connection between themselves and 
the Fatherland, an industrial and commercial intercourse 
may arise that must be materially and intellectually bene- 
ficial to both. In this manner the association wishes to 
contriblute its share to Germany's glory and honor, in 
order to afford to the German poor in future a field of 
fruitful labor, to open new markets to German industry 
and to give to German sea trade a wider expansion. 

"After long and careful deliberation the Verein has 
reached the conclusion that Texas is pre-eminently the 
country that will suit the German emigrant best. The 
association has sent experienced men to Texas, who have 
traveled through that country far and near and have given 
such information that the Verein could make its selection 
conscientiously and unhesitatingly. 

"The association has acquired in the healthiest part of 
the country a continuous, uncultivated territory of con- 
siderable extent, where it will assist, as much as possible, 
the settling of those Germans who wish to leave their na- 
tive country, and to that end will use those means best 
adapted to existing conditions. 

"Before departure a tract of good land will be guaran- 
teed in writing to each emigrant, which he receives as a 
present from the association without any compensation 
whatsoever." 

The program then contains certain conditions under 
which the emigrants are to be carried across the sea, the 
rules and regulations of the prospective colony and the 
statement that each single man must deposit with the as- 
sociation 300 gulden ($120) and each head of an average 
family 600 gulden ($240). It concludes with the following 
admonitions : 



66 German Element in Te.vas 

"The new fatherland across the ocean can only thrive, 
when the Germans there continue to be as they were at 
home ; thrifty, painstaking and loyal to sound morals and 
the lav/s. Although the association has no doubts in this 
regard, it will only admit to emigration 150 families during 
this year, and only after these emigrants have established 
a well secured settlement, will the Verein assist in further 
emigration." 

The executive committee : 

(Sig.) Prince zu Leiningen, 

Count Isenburg-Merholz, 
for the absent Count Castell. 

Mainz, April 9, 1844. 

(For full text of the program in German see Appen- 
dix C.) 

After the Adelsverein had thus made its intentions known 
to the German people. Prince Carl Solms-Braunfels was ap- 
pointed commissioner general for the colony and Bourgeois 
d'Orvanne as his assistant with the title of colonial direc- 
tor. Both departed for Texas in May to make the nec- 
essary arrangements for the expected first shipload of 
emigrants. Bourgeois tried to obtain an extension of his 
forfeited land concession from President Sam Houston, 
but failing in this. Prince Solms was constrained to write 
in a private letter to Count Castell "that they were in the 
embarrassing position of having emigrants coming with 
no lands to grant them." If the prince had added, that 
land in West Texas could then be bought at from 5 to 15 
cents per acre, the prospects of the enterprise might have 
been different, from what they became through another 
hasty and senseless purchase of a second land grant, of 
which we shall speak in the next chapter. Bourgeois 
d'Orvanne had been informed on August 24, 1844, that he 
was no longer a member of the association and that his 
services as colonial director were no longer required, while 



German Element in Terras 67 

Prince Solms with his suite was traveling- over Texas in 
search of suitable lands for the expected colonists. In his 
reports to the directorate of the Adelsverein, Prince Solms 
had declared the large plantation, Nassau, bought by Count 
Boos-VValdeck in Fayette County, to be undesirable for the 
colonization projects of the Verein, because it was too 
close to other settlements, and, therefore, not adapted for 
a German colony, that should be established where the 
German colonist would be unmolested from interference 
by other settlers, in order to preserve their National cus- 
toms and religion. This decision of the prince was very 
unfortunate, as the plantation would have furnished an 
admirable stopping place for the immigrants on their long 
road to the land grant in West Texas that the Adels- 
verein bought after the Bourgeois grant had been for- 
feited. The latter's concession had not been favored by 
Prince Solms either, "because it was too far from the 
coast in order to carry on trade with Mexico," as he wrote 
to the \"erein. Despite this Count Castell negotiated the 
purchase of a land grant still ICX) miles further northwest, 
thus dooming the colonization enterprise of the Adels- 
verein to failure, before it had actually begun. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Purchase of a Second Land Grant by the Adelsverein. 

In the spring of 1844 there arrived in Bremen a German 
Texan by the name of Henry Francis Fisher (Heinrich 
Franz Fischer), commissioned as consul for Texas. Fisher 
came from Houston, where he was engaged in the general 
land business, being also a notary public and secretary 
of the German Society for Texas. He and a certain Bur- 
chard Miller (Burkart Mueller), also of Houston, had ob- 
tained an immense land concession in West Texas from 
President Sam Houston on September 1, 1843. The grant 
provided, among other conditions, that Fisher and Miller 
should settle on that land 600 families from Europe in 18 
months, with a later total of 6000 families. The time limit 
expired on March 1, 1945, and all the lands of the grant 
remained property of the State until the conditions were 
fulfilled. If Fisher and Miller should bring the required 
number of immigrants from Europe in the specified time, 
then the State would give proper title to these immigrants 
after they had lived on the claim for three successive years, 
built a house and fenced in at least 15 acres. Each family 
would receive title to 640 acres (one section), each single 
man 320 acres. But the contractors had permission to make 
contract with each emigrant for transfer of not more than 
half of this land to the contractor. 

When Fisher arrived in Germany nearly one year of the 
time limit of his contract had already elapsed. Later the 
Texas Legislature, on January 20, 1845, granted an exten- 
sion of time until March 1, 1846, but when Fisher began ne- 
gotiations in Germany for colonizing the land of his grant 
there were but 10 months left for sending the emigrants 
to Texas. Fisher had obtained from Count Boos-Waldeck, 
Avhom he had told that he intended tq visit Germany, a 



German Element in Te.vas 69 

letter of introduction to Count Castell on November 10, 
1843. while Waldeck was in Galveston. This letter he sent 
to Count Castell from Bremen on March 12, 1844, stating 
that he would come to Mainz at the earliest possible time 
to lay before the directorate of the Adelsverein his coloni- 
zation plan. Count Castell acknowledged receipt of this 
communication on May 18, stating that he would be pleased 
to confer with Consul Fisher on this project, adding that 
he had already written several times to Count Boos-Wal- 
deck to open negotiations with Mr. Fisher, but that he 
had refused to do so, because he believed a colonization on 
the Fisher and Miller grant an impossibility. Count Wal- 
deck's advice was again disregarded, and on June 24. 1844. 
the Adelsverein bought the land contrad: of Fisher and 
Miller, paying $9000 in three deferred payments and as- 
suming to carry out all the conditions demanded by the 
State of Texas. 

The original Fisher and Miller land grant dated from 
June 7, 1842, but was renewed as "Fisher and Miller's sec- 
ond contract" on September 1, 1843, and, as stated above, 
again extended by the Texas Legislature on January 29, 
1845, to March 1, 1846. The lands of this concession lay 
on the southern banks of the Colorado River, between the 
Llano and San Saba Rivers, the nearest points to exist- 
ing settlements being about 100 miles west of Austin, 150 
miles from San Antonio and almost 300 miles from the sea 
coast. The whole tract contained, according to an official 
statement of the Adelsverein (Handbook for Emigrants, 
Bremen, 1846, page 80), 3,878,000 acres. That almost half 
of this territory was unsuited for agricultural purposes, 
being traversed by the San Saba mountain ridge, was not 
mentioned, probably because nobody then knew anything 
definite about the topography of the San Saba country. 
Fisher had never seen the land, yet he declared unhesitat- 
ingly that it was all fine farming land and that the Adels- 
verein could casilv settle there 6000 families with the ex- 



70 German Element in Texas 

pense of $80,000. It seems that Count Castell was hyp- 
notized by the great extent of the territory, the same 
being about ten times the size of the dukedom of Nassau, 
for he impHcitly believed in all that Fisher said, whose 
sole interest in the matter was the quick disposal of his 
claim, and, without waiting for any information about the 
land from Prince Solms, who, as we know, was in Texas, 
he entered into a contract with Henry F. Fisher, purchas- 
ing unknown lands that no white man had yet visited, lands 
inhabited by the savage and hostile Comanche Indians, 
and assuming onerous conditions that the Adelsverein was 
utterly unable to fulfill. One of the conditions of the 
State of Texas was that the contractor had to survey the 
land at his own expense, dividing the same into sections 
of 620 acres, each alternate section remaining the property 
of the State, while the State did not promise any assist- 
ance against the Indians, who might object to being de- 
prived of their customary hunting grounds. 

The surveying of the tract alone later cost the Adels- 
verein about $80,000, in other words, the full amount for 
which it was capitalized. 

According to the contract (Uebereinkunft) between 
Count Castell, as representative of the Adelsverein and 
Henry F. Fisher, representing the proprietors of Fisher 
and Miller's land grant, signed at Mainz on June 24, 1844, 
article 3, (section 2), Fisher and Miller were to receive one- 
third of all the profits made by the Verein through the sale 
of lands, or from industrial establishments, v.'hile they 
agreed not to sell their interests in the enterprise before 
1848 to anybody, even if they were offered more than the 
Adelsverein vvas willing to pay. 

Previous to any profit sharing the Adelsverein had, of 
course, to be reimbursed for all expenses made in the in- 
terest of the colonization project. In order to protect the 
interests of both contracting parties, section 3 of article 
3, created a colonial committee (Colonialrath) in v.-hich 



German Element in Texas 71 

the Adelsvcrein had five and Fisher and Miller three votes. 
To this colonial committee was granted exclusive execu- 
tive power in all colonization matters, and Fisher could ap- 
point a substitute in his place. The officers of this colo- 
nial committee were to be in Texas and during Fisher s ab- 
sence Burchard Miller had power of attorney to represent 
their interests (article 6, paragraph 3). But it seems that 
Prince Solms did not recognize Miller's authority, for in 
a letter to Fisher, dated Houston, April 10, 1845, Miller 
complains bitterly about the treatment he received from the 
Prince, who had said that the Adelsverein did not know 
Miller, and that he (Miller) had no business whatever in 
the colonial committee or the colonization project. He calls 
the Prince's attitude a "bombastic boast, such as could 
only be imported from Germany." 

On December 14, 1844, the directorate of the Adelsverein 
had to acknowledge the failure of the purchase of Bour- 
geois' land contract through the publication of the follow- 
ing notice: "The grant of Bourgeois d'Orvanne has been 
declared forfeited by the Congress of Texas, but the com- 
pany has made another contract with H. Fisher, by which 
the more northerly situated, extraordinarily fertile and 
healthy lands on the right banks of the Colorado River 
have l3een acquired ( !) and come into possession of the 
Adelsverein. The Directorate." 

This statement is either intentionally misleading, or Count 
Castell was unable to properly interpret the meaning of the 
contract entered into between the Adelsverein and Fisher 
and Miller. The latter had no land to sell and the former 
had only acquired the privilege to settle a certain number 
of emigrants on a certain tract of land that remained in 
possession of the Republic of Texas until certain condi- 
tions were fulfilled, when the State would execute deeds to 
the colonists. For each 100 families who settled on the 
grant the contractors would receive 10 sections of land 
of 640 acres each, and for each 100 single men. 10 half 



72 German Element in Texas 

sections of 320 acres each. This -vvas the gist of the con- 
tract, yet it seems that the Adelsverein, as many writers 
(Kapp, Siemering, von Rosenberg, von Meusebach) con- 
tend, was under the impression that it owned several mil- 
lion acres in Texas, which it could either give or sell to 
the prospective colonists, or where large landed estates 
for such members of the German nobility could be estab- 
lished, who were barred from inheriting land in Germany 
by the law of progeniture. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Colonization Under the Auspices of the Adelsverein. 

After the purchase of Fisher and Miller's land grant the 
Adelsverein was ready to proceed with its colonization 
project, and preparations were made to send to Texas the 
first party of emigrants. The association entered into a 
mutual agreement with each emigrant, in which the Verein 
in consideration of the payment of 300 or 600 gulden 
($120 or $240) not only promised to bring the emigrants 
to Texas, but also to furnish free transportation from the 
place of landing to the colony in wagons and tents of the 
society, and the furnishing of a rude dwelling, to be built 
on their lands in the colony. This the Adelsverein expected 
to accomplish for half of the amount of money deposited 
by each emigrant. The other half was credited to the emi- 
grants who could draw on it for farming implements or 
extra rations from the company's stores until they 
had made their first crops. The officials of the Adels- 
verein had calculated that the cost of transportation from 
Galveston to Port Lavaca and from there to the point of 
destination (about 300 miles) would be $4 per head, and 
that a log house could be furnished for $24, while in fact 
the transportation of each emigrant cost the Adelsverein 
about $20 and a house could not be built for less than 
$100. Neither Count Castell nor any other official of the 
association had the slightest idea of the conditions, prices 
or cost of living in Texas, and neither Bourgeois nor 
Fisher found it to their interest to enlighten the German 
officials on these important points. Bourgeois d'Orvanne 
and Henry F. Fisher were the evil spirits of the Adels- 
verein and it was primarily their scheming and misrepre- 
sentations that caused the early collapse of the enterprise. 
But this can in no wise excuse the stupendous incompe- 



74 German Element in Texas 

tency and childish credulity of Count Castell and other of- 
ficials of the Verein, whose actions were an unbroken chain 
of gigantic blunders. 

The association agreed furthermore to give to each head 
of a family a provisional title for 320 acres of land and 
to each single man for 160 acres, which title would be per- 
fected after three years of continuous living on the land 
by the Government of Texas, but the colonist had to re- 
imburse the Verein for the cost of survey and settle all 
other indebtedness to the association before he could re- 
ceive a clear title. During the first three years the colonists 
were also subiect to regulations established by the Adels- 
verein, as well as to the laws of Texas. Thus everything 
seemed to be properly arranged, and in September, 1844, 
the first party of emigrants assembled in Bremen to sail 
to the promised land. 

Prince Solms-Braunfels, the commissioner general, with 
the German members of the colonial committee, and Bour- 
geois d'Orvanne had arrived at Galveston on July 1, 1844. 
Prince Solms' first sad experience was the information 
that Bourgeois' land grant had been forfeited and would 
neither be extended nor renewed. Thus he was tempora- 
rily the executive head of a colonization company without 
an acre of land, except the plantation Nassau. The situ- 
ation was hardly improved when he was informed of the 
purchase of the Fisher and Miller grant and when he found 
that the land was almost 300 miles inland, in a wilderness, 
inhabited by dangerous tribes of hostile savages and far 
removed from access to the actual necessities of life. 

On November 23. 1844, the brig Johann Dethard from 
Bremen, arrived at Galveston with the first emigrants for 
the new colony, followed in December by the Ferdinand 
and Herschel, bringing in all 200 families of about 700 
people, with their belongings, all anxious to be trans- 
ported as quickly as possible to their future hom.es. This, 
under the circumstances stated above, was impossible, and 



Genu an Element in TedYis 75 

Prince Solms, who received the immigrants at Galveston, 
was at first nonplused. The first thing to do was to 
bring the immigrants to the mainland and there await 
further developments. The immigrants were told that the 
lands of the Verein could not be reached at the present 
time for various reasons, but they would be well taken care 
of by the Adelsverein until they could be installed on their 
promised lands. 

Among the passengers of the first emigrant ship of the 
Adelsverein were quite a number of well-educated men, 
who were willing for the sake of personal freedom to 
change their life of comparative ease and comfort in a 
civilized country to the life of toil and hardship of a 
pioneer in an uncivilized land, and endure all privations 
and inconveniences of the frontiersmen in uninhabited 
regions. Mention should be made of Fritz Goldbeck, who 
came to Texas with his parents in the ship Johann Dethart 
in 1844. He was then only fourteen years old and with 
his family experienced all the troubles of these early days. 
He was the first German — Texas poet, .having written 
a great number of poems, which, in a simple and unpre- 
tending language, are descriptive of the settlers' life on 
the prairies of Texas, and bring to memory many inter- 
esting facts and occurrences of the primitive days of the 
Lone Star State. In 1865 he was appointed Mayor of 
New Braunfels by Governor Davis, and later re-elected. 
The last years of his life, after having traveled exten- 
sively in Mexico and California, Mr. Goldbeck passed in 
San Antonio, where he died in 1900, at the age of 70 years. 
It may be interesting to note that of the descendants of 
the families of Goldbeck and Mueller, his wife's family, 
who came to Texas in 1844 and 1848. seventeen members 
strong, now still four members are living in San Antonio 
and Fredericksburg, these being Mrs. F. Goldbeck and 
three sisters. (Appendix D contains a few of the poems 
of I'ritz Goldbeck in German, which are selected from his 



76 German Element in Teocas 

book, "Seit fiinfzig- Jahren" (For fifty years), published 
in 1895 at San Antonio.) 

All immigrants were first transported by small craft to 
Matagorda Bay, about 100 miles southwest of Galveston, 
and landed at Indianport, later Indianola, or Carlshafen, 
as Prince Solms christened the place. There the colonists 
celebrated their first Christmas in the new world, and 
although the prince tried to make it as comfortable and 
pleasant for them as possible, many were the tears shed 
at the thoughts of their far away homes and the uncertain 
prospects of the near future. In tents and hastily con- 
structed wooden sheds the immigrants remained at Carls- 
hafen for over two months before the slow and tedious 
march into the interior began, while Prince Solms was 
hunting for a proper place to establish the first relay 
station for his proteges. By the aid of Dr. Ferdinand 
Lindheimer, a well known botanists, who had been in 
Texas since 1836, he was fortunate to find such a place 
at "Las Fontanas" on the Comal and Guadaloupe Rivers. 
Fie bought 1300 acres of land for $800. on March 14. 1845, 
and seven days later, on March 21, the wearied colonists 
struck camp there, after a long and tiresome march of 150 
miles. The company's engineers at once platted part of 
the land for a city and thus the first German settlement 
in West Texas was born and christened New Braunfels, 
after the family castle of Prince Solms on the Lahn River. 
The colonists received each a town lot free of charge and 
the families each 10 acres of adjoining land, which gifts 
in no way invalidated their previous claims on 160, or 320 
acres of the land grant. Then the colonists quickly built 
their log houses in the new town, while on an elevation 
a larger house for the prince and the officers of the com- 
pany was built, to which Prince Solms gave the some- 
what euphemistic name of "Sophienburg." 

During all this time the Adelsverein, according to its 
contract with the emigrants, had to provide them with 



German Element in Texas 11 

means of subsistence and this had to be continued in New 
Braunfels until the colonists could harvest and dispose of 
their first crop. This constant drain on the association's 
treasury increased in proportion with the arrival of more 
immigrants during 1845, and, being far in excess of the 
calculations based on Henry F. Fisher's information, was 
one of the chief reasons of the early collapse of the Adels- 
verein. 

Prince Carl zu Solms-Braunfels was a true cavalier of 
the old regime. A gentleman by birth and breeding, he 
was of a genial, prepossessing disposition, kind and o'olig- 
ing, stately in appearance and demeanor, with every ad- 
vantage for court life and the drawing room. Trans- 
ferred to the prairies of Texas and the life of the fron- 
tiersman, he could not but fail with even the best of in- 
tentions. His appointment as executive head of the Ger- 
man immigration in Texas was another stupendous blun- 
der of the Adelsverein. Prince Solms was just as defi- 
cient in business ability as Count Castell, the general 
manager in Germany, and their combined management or 
rather mismanagement of affairs of the Adelsverein could 
only end in disaster. After the founding of New Braunfels 
and the building of the Sophienburg, Prince Solms unex- 
pectedly returned to Germany, leaving to his successor 
the affairs in a condition bordering on chaos. He had 
stayed there but little over one month and departed before 
his successor had arrived. 

He never returned to Texas, but when the citizens of 
New Braunfels, at the twenty-fifth anniversary of their 
city, cabled the prince their greetings he acknowledged 
the courtesy with the following cabled message : 
To the Citizens of New Braunfels: 

My sincerest thanks for your kind remembrance at the 
jubilee of the city of New Braunfels. It surprised me as 
much as I was delighted over it. 



78 German Element in Te.ras 

Glory and happiness to those who have manfully estab- 
lished their homes in the new ronnfrv 

May God give continued blessing and prosperity to my 
beloved fellow countrymen at New Braunfels. Do not 
forget me, as I am thinking of you often in faithful af- 
fection. 

Carl Prince zu Solms, 

K. K. (Imperial Royal) Field Marshal Lieutenant. 
Wiesbaden, May 6, 1870. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
Further German Immigration Under the Adelsverein in 

1845. 

Prince Solms was in such haste to leave New Braunfels 
that he did not await the arrival of his successor, Baron 
Otfried, Hans von Meusebach, who had been appointed 
commissioner general on February 24, 1845. When von 
Meusebach arrived, he soon saw that the finances of the 
association w^ere in a hopeless condition. The company's 
treasurer, being ordered to make out a complete statement 
of all assets, credits and obligations of the Adelsverein in 
Texas, could not comply with the order. He explained to 
Meusebach that the prince, the treasurer, the doctor, the 
engineer and other officials had issued orders, due bills, 
drafts and notes promiscuously, and that no proper account 
of them had been kept in the company's books. Meuse- 
bach, a man of great energy, at once decided to follow 
Prince Solms to Galveston, and obtain from him the de- 
sired information as to the financial standing of the Verein 
in Texas. He met the prince in Galveston and it seems 
best to let von Meusebach speak for himself about their 
meeting. In "Answers to Interrogatories," pages 12-13, 
he says : 

"I found Prince Solms there with an attachment against 
him, taken out by some uneasy creditor of the company. 
I lifted the attachment by paying the claim out of my 
credit of $10,000 under the condition that he would urge 
the directorate in Europe to send immediately, and, with- 
out waiting for a report, a credit twice as much as I had 
along, because the items of indebtedness picked up by me 
on the road from Carlshafen to New Braunfels and from 
there to Galveston showed the association being in debt 
to that amount. I told him that the welfare of the immi- 



80 German Element in Texas 

grants depended for the present on the means of the com- 
pany that had promised to support them in provisions 
until they could raise a crop and to furnish them with 
everything necessary to make a crop either for pay, or on 
credit. 

"I have no doubt that the prince did notify the direc- 
tory in Europe according to promise. But that commit- 
tee probably had at that time no more available funds on 
hand. Having failed to get from the prince in Galveston 
any reliable information in regard to the financial opera- 
tions of the company and its debts and having been re- 
ferred again to the treasurer at New Braunfels, who had 
declared that he could not make a full statement, I had to 
go to work at it myself. I restored order in the financial 
department and by close management inspired the creditors 
with confidence and would have kept both order and con- 
fidence, but for some new stupendous blunder on the part 
of the directory in Europe in the shipment of the emi- 
grants in the fall of 1845. In August, 1845, I had sent a 
complete statement of all amounts, credits and debits of 
the company in Texas showing that a debt of $19,460.02 
was left by my predecessor in office, besides using up my 
own credit of $10,000 for provisions for the immigrants 
at New Braunfels. By the first of November this debt 
had increased to $24,000 and I requested the directorate 
in Europe to send immediately this amount as a separate 
fund irrespective of the amounts necessary for the recep- 
tion of the new immigrants to be shipped in the fall of 
1845, and for further operations." 

If the Adelsverein had been true to its public declara- 
tions and its pledge it would have remitted the amount 
asked for, but von Meusebach's urgent request was never 
complied with. In fact, the association was practically 
bankrupt there and then and it was only due to the great 
activity of Meusebach and his astonishing resourcefulness 
that the sinking ship was kept afloat for some time longer. 



German Element in Texas 81 

\"on Meusebach knew that he had to expect several thou- 
sand ,new immigrants by November of that year and that 
it was absokitely necessary to establish another station 
nearer the land grant, if the colonists should ever reach 
it. Therefore, with a small exploring party, he left New 
Braunfels in the latter part of August, advancing in a 
northwesterly direction towards the Llano River, being 
the first white man penetrating into that country. About 
7h miles from New Braunfels he found the desired location 
near the banks of the Pedernales River, it being about 
two-thirds of the distance to the nearest boundary line 
of the grant. There he bought 10,000 acres of arable 
land, well watered and timbered, on credit, equipped and 
sent out a surveying party of 26 men, led by Lieutenant 
Bene, in December and had a wagon road established from 
New Braunfels to the new settlement. The whole tract 
was laid out in 10-acre lots and distributed among immi- 
grants of 1845 and 1846 as preliminary homesteads. This 
was the beginning of Fredericksburg, today the county 
seat of Gillespie County and one of the most flourishing 
German settlements in Texas. 

When von jMeusebach had left Europe for Texas at the 
end of February, 1845, he had been informed that the 
Adelsverein intended to send a considerable number of 
emigrants to Texas in the fall. And they came. When 
he returned from his exploring expedition to New Braun- 
fels at the end of October, he found letters awaiting him 
with the information that 4000 emigrants were on their 
way to Texas and that a credit to the amount of $24,000 
had been opened for him with a banker of New Orleans, 
in other words a credit of $6 for each emigrant. For this 
pittance the emigrants had to be transported from Gal- 
veston to the mainland, thence to New Braunfels (later to 
Fredericksburg) and given provisions until they had made 
their first crop. That the association's debt in Texas at 
that time was already more than the new credit opened 



82 German Element in Texas 

for Meusebach, the directors in Mainz seemed to have 
either forgotten, or held it beneath their dignity to no- 
tice, or were under the impression that, having paid their 
debt of $24,000 with the amount sent to New Orleans, 
Meusebach would enjoy an unlimited credit. 

Through private letters of Prince Solms, through his 
personal report, v/hich he undoubtedly made after his re- 
turn to Germany, and through the detailed reports of von 
Meusebach, coupled with his urgent request for further 
funds, the Adelsverein must have been fully acquainted 
with the Verein's condition in Texas, its obligation and 
the cost of transportation and support of the immigrants. 
At the ridiculously low estimate of 10 cents for daily ra- 
tions to each person, this alone would have amounted to 
S45,000 for 5000 people in three months, while the trans- 
portation from Galveston to New Braunfels v.'ould in- 
crease the expenses to about $40,000 more. Still it seems 
that Count Castell was laboring under the happy illu- 
sion that $24,000 would last indefinitely, while, in fact, 
the following amounts were necessary in Texas by the fall 
of 1845, viz. : 

1. Forty-five thousand dollars for provisions for 5000 
persons for three months. 

2. Twenty-five thousand dollars for the payment of the 
floating debt. 

3. Thirty-five thousand dollars for transportation of 
4000 immigrants to New Braunfels. 

4. Fifteen thousand dollars to build about 200 houses 
in the colony. 

Total, $120,000. (Meusebach, "Answers to Interroga- 
tories.") 

This would have placed the Verein's affairs in Texas 
on a sound business basis and the immigrants would have 
been saved many hardships and great distress. But in- 
stead there was only the paltry sum of $24,000 available, 



German Element in Terras 83 

barely sufficient to liquidate the floating debt. (Meuse- 
bach, "Answers to Interrogatories.") 

This sending of 4000 immigrants in the fall and winter 
of 1845 probably was the most inexcusable of the many 
blunders of the Adelsverein. Through Prince Solms, who 
had returned to Germany in August, 1845, Count Castell 
was made fully aware of the precarious condition of the 
colonists who had come to Texas in December, 1844, and 
the impossibility of reaching the grant lands for some 
time. Despite this undisputable fact, he sent over 4000 
more immigrants who had to be housed and supported for 
an indefinite period. 

The proper policy would have been to send the immi- 
grants in small numbers, to buy from ten to 20,000 acres 
of lands every 30 miles apart and there establish settle- 
ments as relay stations, and thus advance gradually from 
the coast to the proposed colony in the Fisher and Miller 
grant. This would have insured success, provided, of 
course, that the financial affairs in Germany were con- 
ducted on a sound business basis. As it was, there were 
only the two settlements, New Braunfels and Freder- 
icksburg, on the entire distance of more than 250 miles 
from the coast to the grant. New Braunfels being 150 
miles from Indianola, and Fredericksburg 75 miles fur- 
ther, with no intermediate resting places. 

Robert Penninger's "Festival Edition" for the celebra- 
tion of the fiftieth anniversary of Fredericksburg (May, 
1896), contains a detailed and interesting account of the 
founding of this German colony in the Western wilder- 
ness of Texas, from which we quote the following: "In 
the middle of December, 1845. Commissioner General von 
Meusebach sent out from New Braunfels an expedition 
of 36 men under the command of Lieutenant and Sur- 
veyor Bene, with instructions to establish a wagon road 
from New Braunfels to the north banks of the Peder- 
nales, where he had bought land for a new settlement. 



84 German Element in Texas 

This expedition was well equipped with wagons, provis- 
ions, weapons, instruments and tools, and besides Lieu- 
tenant Bene, two engineers. Gross and Murcheson, accom- 
panied it. They arrived at their point of destination after 
a march of three Vv-eeks, and at once began the construc- 
tion of a block house, which was only partly finished, 
when they were forced to return to New Braunfels for lack 
of supplies. 

On April 24, 1846, the first body of colonists started for 
the new settlement in 20 heavy ox-carts and some Mexi- 
can two-wheeled vehicles, amid the cheers of their coun- 
trymen, who remained at New Braunfels. When they ap- 
proached the Pedernales they were met by a number of 
Indians from the tribe of the Delawares, who, fortunately, 
were friendly disposed and the colonists passed the In- 
dian camp unmolested. 

Friday, May 8, the weary immigrants reached the place 
where the surveying party had begtm the erection of the 
first house of the new colony in an opening of the virgin 
forest of gigantic trees and dense coppice. The new set- 
tlement, named Fredericksburg, in honor of Prince Fred- 
erick of Prussia, a member of the Adelsverein, was platted 
by Surveyor Wilke, the fearless pioneers began the con- 
struction of their new homes, their number being constant- 
ly increased by the arrival of new immigrants, and soon 
Fredericksburg had 1000 busy and industrious inhabitants. 
Through gifts and considerate treatment they succeeded 
in establishing and maintaining friendly relations with 
the Indians who were quite numerous, and, like New 
Braunfels, Fredericksburg suffered very little from In- 
dian depredations. It would have been an easy matter 
for the Indians of the Llano and San Saba territory to 
destroy Fredericksburg, as well as the settlements of 
Betina, Castell and Leiningen, that were established in 
1847, but all the Indians had great respect for von Meuse- 
bach, whom they called "El Sol Colorado," from his flow- 



German Element in Te.vas 85 

ing beard, and the German Indian Agent Emil Krieswitz 
was very prudent and circumspect in his dealings with the 
different Indian tribes and secured the friendship of their 
chiefs for the German pioneers. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

Arrival of More Than Five Thousand German Immigrants 

in 1845-46. 

With hardly any funds on hand whatever and with 
thousands of immigrants to be taken care of on their way 
to Texas, von Meusebach was not in an enviable position. 
A man with less sense of duty would have resigned at 
once, while a man with less energy and resourcefulness 
than Meusebach would have been in a hopeless embar- 
rassment. But fortunately Meusebach was equal to the 
emergency. He knew that the immigrants trusted the 
Adelsverein implicitly and now he bent all his energies 
to take care of the coming flood of immigrants m the best 
manner possible. He went to Galveston to see after their 
disembarkation and further transportation, first to Carls- 
hafen (Indianola) and thence to New Braunfels. 

From October, 1845, to April, 1846, there arrived at Gal- 
veston 5247 immigrants in 36 ships, 24 of which came from 
Bremen and 12 from Antwerp. They all, after disembark- 
ing, had to be brought by small schooners to Lavaca Bay, 
and, as most of the immigrants had very heavy and often 
bulky baggage, and provisions for four months had also 
to be transferred from the vessels to Carlshafen, this was 
quite a difficult task, but nothing in comparison with the 
strenuous exertions to be made for the transportation from 
Indianola to New Braunfels. 

Through Meusebach 's efforts the immigrants were 
brought from Galveston to Indianola as speedily as pos- 
sible and housed in tents and barracks, while he was 
searching the country for teams to transport the several 
thousand people to New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. 
After many unsuccessful efforts he finally made a con- 
tract with Torrev Brothers of Houston, in March. 1846, 



German Element in Texas 87 

for the transportation of the immigrants from Indianola 
to New Braunfels, who in the meantime had been sub- 
jected to great sufferings and diseases. The winter of 
1845-46 in Texas unfortunately was exceedingly severe 
and wet, rain falling almost continuously for months. 
Many of the immigrants being badly housed and poorly 
nourished, contracted fever and several hundred of them 
died at Indianola during the winter. The suffering was in- 
tense and everybody hailed with joy the announcement 
made in March, that relief could be expected daily and that 
the march to the colony would soon begin. Shortly after 
that 100 teams arrived and the first wagon train started 
for the interior. Then the war between the United States 
and Mexico broke out (May, 1846), the American com- 
manders utilizing all available horses in Texas ; the United 
States Government paid more for teams than Meusebach 
could afford, Torrey & Co. repudiated their contract and 
the immigrants were left to their own resources. Five 
hundred enlisted with the American army, while the others 
started on the road, trying to reach New Braunfels the best 
way they could. This proved disastrous to many, more 
than 200 perishing on the way from exposure, hunger and 
exhaustion ; the bleached bones of the dead everywhere 
marked the road of death the unfortunate people had taken, 
while those who arrived at New Braunfels and later at 
Fredericksburg carried with them germs of disease that 
soon developed into a frightful epidemic, in which more 
than 1000 died. 

The conditions at New Braunfels and Fredericksburg 
soon became exasperating. Most of the colonists were 
dissatisfied and restless, because they felt that they were 
imposed upon by the association, and when the deadly 
disease began to spread and the stipulated daily rations 
of the "X'erein" were no longer distributed regulnrlw the 
affairs bordered almost on anarchy. Von Meusebach was 
threatened with bodily harm and he had to employ all his 



88 German Element in TeaYis 

powers of persuasiveness to quiet the excited men and 
women, promising them with great eloquence that in the 
near future everything would be well and that the col- 
onists would soon sit under their own fig trees on their 
own land in the colonial possessions. Thus he skilfully 
abated the storm and comparative order was restored, al- 
though many of the colonists, believing that the end of 
their existence was near, indulged in senseless dissipa- 
tions and wild revelries, refusing to work under any con- 
sideration. The outlook was gloomy with every indica- 
tion that both colonies of the Adelsverein were doomed to 
speedy extinction. While the scurvy epidemic was at its 
height, men and women became bereft of reason, all 
family ties were broken and the wretched people tried to 
forget their misery by dancing, carousing and drinking. 
Dr. Koester, the only physician at New Braunfels, was pow- 
erless against the attacks of the disease, which only spent 
its force after one-third of the inhabitants had fallen vic- 
tims to its deadly grip (Dr. Frederic Kapp says two-thirds, 
A. Soergel, who was one of the immigrants at New Braun- 
fels, says one-third, while von Meusebach asserts that "the 
total did not much overrun 800 or 850"). 

During most of this ill-fated period Meusebach was prac- 
tically without funds for the support of the colonists. He 
sent urgent reports to the directory in Germany for the 
immediate forwarding of money, but his requests were not 
heeded. Then he went to the farm Nassau and bought 
from the rich planters on the Brazos provisions of any 
kind on credit ; he tried to raise money in Houston and 
New Orleans, but failed, the banker of the Adelsverein at 
the latter place refusing to advance funds for the reason 
that he had no confidence whatever in an enterprise that 
was begun and carried on wdth such a stupendous lack of 
business ability. Returning to Galveston, Meusebach 
stated the precarious condition of the finances to the 
Verein's agent, Klaener, who had to admit that he also 



German Element in Te.ras 89 

was in a predicament to such an extent that he had been 
forced to hypothecate his store with all its contents. Then 
Meusebach resorted to the last expediency — publicity. He 
advised Klaener to send a correct report of the miserable 
conditions as they actually existed, to some reputed news- 
paper in Germany, requesting publication of the article. 
Klaener followed Meusebach's advise and sent a full state- 
ment of the affairs of the Adelsverein in Texas to Mayor 
Schmidt of Bremen, requesting publication. This was 
done and had the desired effect. Several of the govern- 
ments took notice of the accusations made in the article 
and demanded an explanation from the directorate of the 
Adelsverein, which resulted in the opening of a credit of 
$60,000 to von Meusebach. Count Castell was very indig- 
nant over the action taken by his agent, Klaener, but the 
tenseness of the situation was relieved. On June 10, 1846, 
Castell addressed the following letter to Commissioner 
General von Meusebach : 

"The letter of Mr. Klaener, addressed to the Mayor of 
Bremen, Mr. Schmidt, and published in the papers, has 
made the worst impression. It has been communicated to 
the goveniments, who now call for an explanation. It states 
that sickness and death prevail at Indianola and New 
Braunfels, and that the company does not come up to its 
promise to remove the immigrants upwards. We would 
have risked everything if we could not say that we have 
acted immediately, as soon as we heard how matters 
stood." 

Regarding this credit von Meusebach says : "The letter 
of advice of this credit of $60,000 from the banker in Ger- 
many was dated July 14, 1846; the letter of advice of our 
New Orleans banker for the same amount was dated Aug- 
ust 17, and arrived at New Braunfels on the seventh of 
September. 1846. If the same amount had been sent one 
year before, on September. 1845. when the money was due, 
or over due. probably the most, if not all of the incon- 



90 German Element in Texas 

veniences, troubles and misfortunes would have been 
avoided." 

Nothing- could arraign the Adelsverein more severely 
than this simple statement. 

Many of the immigrants, coming in 1846, heard on board 
of the emigrant vessels of the piteous conditions of the 
colonists at New Braunfels, and those who had sufficient 
means for self support rather sacrificed their contract with 
the Adelsverein, than risking their lives in the infested 
colony of the Verein. Some, like J. Frederick, remained 
in Galveston ; others, among them the families of Bering 
and Cabanis, came to Houston, while some went to In- 
dustry, Cat Spring and LaGrange. Of these early pio- 
neers some are still among us at this writing, namely, 
Messrs. August and Conrad Bering, flermann Rudolf 
Cabanis and his two sisters, Mrs. Emma Harde. v>^idow 
of the late Louis Harde, and Mrs. Agnes Schmidt, widow 
of August Schmidt, formerly of Houston, but lately of 
Brooklyn, N. Y., where he died last November at the pa- 
triarchal age of ^Z years. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
Last Effort of the Adelsverein in Colonization. 

It has been demonstrated in the preceding chapters that 
up to the close of the year 1846 none of the immigrants 
had yet reached the promised land of the Adelsverein. No 
white man had yet put his foot on the ground of this new 
Canaan, and the Comanches were still in undisputed and un- 
disturbed possession of it. In the last months of 1846 a 
"Doctor" Schubert, who had been appointed colonial direc- 
tor at Fredericksburg through recommendation of H. F. 
Fisher, had organized an expedition for reconnoitering the 
unknown territory of the grant, expecting to win the laurels 
of being the first explorer of that country. He bravely ad- 
vanced to the banks of the Llano River, but although he 
had a self-constructed, formidable looking cannon with his 
army of invasion, he did not dare to cross the river; and, 
without firing a shot, he returned to Fredericksburg, thus 
imitating the historic king who marched up the hill with 
20,000 men. and then marched down again. 

To von Meusebach the courageous explorer then made a 
report that access to the colonial grant vvas impossible, be- 
cause the country beyond the Llano River was filled with 
hostile and savage Indians. Such a report, although spuri- 
ous and unfounded, von Meusebach could not permit to go 
abroad unchallenged, and he, therefore, determined at 
once to go personally to the grant and make some ar- 
rangements with the Indians, satisfactory to both parties. 
It may seem strange that this was not done prior to 1847, 
but we must not forget that von Meusebach, since his ar- 
rival in Texas in April, 1845, had been confronted with the 
herculean task of providing provisions, transportation and 
lodgings for thousands of colonists with almost no funds 
on hand, and had to travel constantly between Galves- 



92 German Element in Teams 

ton, Houston, Nassau, Indianola, New Orleans and New 
Braunfels to collect sufficient means to keep the immi- 
grants, intrusted to his care, from starvation. In the 
meantime, von Meusebach had opened a road to the Peder- 
nales River, and in May, 1846, had founded Fredericks- 
burg, as the second relay station to reach the grant. 

Now he set out in January, 1847, with three wagons, 
an interpreter and only 45 men toward the Llano River, 
which he crossed at the mouth of Beaver Creek, and thus 
entered as the first the lands of the Fisher and Miller 
land concession. With this expedition went Dr. Ferdinand 
Roemer, a geologist from Bonn, Rhenish-Prussia, who 
later published a meritorious scientific work on the "Cre- 
tacious formation of the Mountains of West Texas," 
(Bonn, 1852), and another book, "Texas," containing a 
detailed history of the early German immTgration to Texas 
(Bonn, 1849). 

The first meeting between von Meusebach and the In- 
dians occurred a few days after he had entered their ter- 
ritory, at a place where the United States later established 
Fort Mason and where the city of Mason now stands. 
There the first council was held between von Meusebach 
and the Comanche Chief, Ketemoszy, in which the latter 
promised to arrange a meeting of the "White Chief" with 
the great chiefs of the Comanches a few days later on the 
banks of the San Saba River. This council took place as 
arranged and lasted several days. Von Meusebach here 
had an opportunity to display his courage and presence 
of mind. When he and his companions approached the 
Comanches, their chief demanded that as a token of good 
faith the "white brothers" should discharge their firearms. 
Without hesitating a moment, Meusebach fired his rifle 
in the air and his followers did the same. Then the Co- 
manches, who were all armed with heavy American rifles, 
fired their arms likewise in the air, and thus a sound 
feeling of mutual confidence was established from the 



German Element in Texas 93 

outset. At this meeting von Meusebach laid before the 
Indian chiefs his plans, and finally the agreement was 
reached that the council of peace between himself and all 
the chiefs of the Comanches should be held at the next 
full moon on the banks of the lower San Saba River. A 
more detailed account of this momentous meeting will be 
contained in a succeeding chapter. 

While Meusebach was conferring with the Comanches 
at the council mentioned above, Major Neighbors arrived, 
dispatched as a courier by Governor Henderson, to urge 
Meusebach to recross the Llano, as the Comanches had 
been instigated to hostilities against the Americans by 
the Mexicans. Meusebach refused to return before his 
mission was accomplished and engaged Major Neighbors, 
who had been an Indian agent for the Lipans under the 
Republic of Texas, to remain with him during his stay in 
the Indian country. As agreed upon, the council of peace 
was held at the next full moon on the San Saba River, 
about 25 miles from its confluence with the Colorado 
River. A treaty was made with the head chiefs of the 
Comanches, Buffalo Hump, Santa Anna and Mopechucope, 
and their warriors, by which the Comanches agreed neither 
to disturb the surveyors of the Adelsverein nor molest 
any of the colonists, while Meusebach promised them $3000 
worth of presents. 

Thus the land was at last opened to colonization, and 
soon the settlements of Castell, Leiningen, Meerholz and 
Bettina were established. Bettina, named after the well 
known authoress, Bettina von Arnim, was the product of an 
enterprise of 40 college and university men who had formed 
the so-called "Society of Forty" at Darmstadt in 1847, for 
the purpose of establishing in Texas, removed from the 
turmoil of the world, a colony on strictly communistic 
principles, as an example for the ideal state of the future. 
These idealists soon experienced the difference between 
the roseate theories of communistic principles of the uto- 



94 German Element in Texas 

pian order and the practical execution of these promising 
plans on the prairie lands of Texas. The life of a Texas 
pioneer was quite different from what these university 
men had imagined and the Ciceronian "otium cum digni- 
tate procul negotiis" ("rest with dignity far from business 
troubles") did not materialize. Disillusioned, but not 
disheartened, they left their "buen retiro" one by one, and 
their abandoned log cabins were in turn occupied by Ger- 
man farmers, who successfully tilled the ground and be- 
came prosperous, where the scientific men had failed. 

Among the founders of Bettina were some notable men, 
Gustav Schleicher, later a prominent Congressman ; Ja- 
cob Kuechler, commissioner of the General Land Office 
from 1869-1875 ; Dr. Ferdinand Herff, for a long time the 
acknowledged foremost physician in Texas, who died on 
March 18, 1912, in San Antonio at the advanced age of 
91 years, and Herman Spies, the last commissioner general 
of the Adelsverein. Dr. William Hermes of LaGrange 
was the youngest member of this party of pioneers, be- 
ing only 18 years old when he first came to Texas in 1847. 
In 1851 he returned to Germany for the purpose of study- 
ing medicine and, after having finished his studies, came 
back to Texas. He is now, at the ripe old age of 85 years, 
the only surviving member of these venturous spirits. 

While none of the four settlements mentioned above, 
except Bettina and Castell, were actually on lands belong- 
ing to the Fisher and Miller grant, they were very close 
to it, and the nearest points to the grant ever reached by 
the colonization project of the Adelsverein. In the course 
of time three of the settlements were abandoned for va- 
rious reasons and only Castell, in Llano County, a village 
of about 200 inhabitants, has survived. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Expedition of von Meusebacli to the Comanche Territory 

and His Treaty With the Indians. 

In the preceding chapter brief mention was made of 
von Meusebach's expedition to the territory between the 
Colorado, Llano and San Saba Rivers, where the land of 
Fisher and Miller's grant was situated. This expedition, 
consisting of 45 men. including three American surveyors, 
well armed and provisioned, set out from Fredericksburg 
on January 22, 1847. One of the five Mexicans of the 
party, who had lived many years among the Comanches, 
having been kidnaped as a child, served as a guide and 
interpreter. The expedition under personal command of 
von Meusebach advanced slowly to the Llano River, reach- 
ing its banks on January 2L There a party of six Shawnee 
Indians was encountered, who were on one of their ex- 
tensive hunting expeditions. These Shawnees from Ark- 
ansas were semi-civilized and friendly. They understood 
English and von Meusebach succeeded in engaging three 
of them to accompany his expedition as hunters. Their 
engagement proved quite fortunate, as neither the German 
members of the exploring party, nor the Mexicans were 
successful in hunting the deer, bears or antelopes that 
were plentiful in the prairies and undergrowth, while the 
Shawnees now brought several of these animals to camp 
almost every day. 

After crossing the Llano River on February 1 the party 
had entered the territory proper of the Comanches and had 
to advance very cautiously, always prepared to meet a 
sudden and unexpected attack by the Indians, who, as 
the Shawnees declared, were constantly following and 
watching von Meusebach and his little band, though in- 
visible to them. Great care had to be observed in the 



96 German Element in Texas 

selection and preparing of the night camps, and it was 
with some difficulty that a proper place could always be 
found, which provided shelter against the sharp north 
wind and at the same time protection against an Indian 
attack. When a suitable spot had been found the eight 
tents of the company were pitched in a semi-circle and the 
openings closed by the wagons, while from six to eight 
fires were kept burning all night in the enclosure, four 
men being constantly on guard duty. In the flickering 
light of the camp fires the different costumes, physiog- 
nomies and actions of the Mexicans, Indians, Germans and 
Americans presented a rather picturesque appearance. It 
was a motley crowd that had ventured into this unexplored 
country to prepare ways and means for its settlement, and 
it was also very doubtful if the Comanches would look 
upon the intrusion into their favorite hunting grounds in 
a friendly spirit. 

On the morning of February 5 eight Comanches Vv'ere 
seen riding toward the camp, carrying a white flag. The 
Mexican Lorenzo was sent by von Meusebach to meet 
them. Their leader, who said that he was Chief Kete- 
moszy, inquired solemnly after the chief of the pale faces. 
Von Meusebach then rode toward them and was informed 
that the Indians were a deputation of their tribe and 
wished to hear about the intentions of the white chief and 
his followers. If they had entered the land of the Co- 
manches with a friendly purpose, all would be well ; if 
they had come to fight, the Indians were ready. Then von 
Meusebach told the Indians through a Shawnee interpreter 
that he and his people had nothing but friendly designs in 
coming to the Comanches' land. They had come from far 
across the great water and had built two cities in tne neigh- 
borhood, where the Indians would be received with the 
same hospitality that he expected from them now. Kete- 
moszy answered that he would instantly inform the other 
Indian chiefs of what he had heard, and would call them 



German Element in Teccas 97 

to meet in council at the next full moon, when a solemn 
treaty of peace could be arranged. After Ketemoszy and 
his braves had been treated to an ample repast, of which 
they partook with evident relish and great appetite, the 
Indians left, promising to return on the next day, in order 
to escort von IMeusebach and his party to their village. 
They were true to their promise, and on February 7 the 
village of the Comanches was reached, situated near the 
San Saba River, on the slope of a hill, from the summit 
of which a large white flag was waving a friendly wel- 
come. 

Five hunderd Indian warriors, all on horseback, were 
drawn up in a long line in front of the wigwams with the 
squaws and children, also on horseback, on the left wing. 
Von Meusebach was requested to advance with only a few 
companions, which he did, being met midways between 
the two parties by as many Indians. After a ceremonious 
greeting and handshaking, preceded by the firing of all 
their rifles in the air, as a token of good faith, von Meuse- 
bach was invited to enter the village with his whole com- 
pany as guests of the red men. They remained there dur- 
ing the day, but for the night they prudently removed 
their camp to the opposite bank of the river under pretext 
of better grazing ground for their horses. Despite this 
precaution three of their best horses had mysteriously 
disappeared during the night, and it required the greatest 
firmness on the part of von Meusebach to induce their 
hosts to "find" the strayed animals and return them to 
their rightful owners. He knew that if he did not insist 
on the return of the stolen horses, nothing would be safe 
from the thieving Indians and that the success and prob- 
ably the very existence of his expedition would be placed 
in jeopardy. Meusebach's determination made a strong 
impression upon the Comanches and had the desired effect. 
The horses were found and returned, and the Indians re- 
ceived some presents in acknowledgement of their diligent 



98 German Element in Te.vas 

search. The expedition remained near the Comanche vil- 
lage several days and was met there by Major Neighbors, 
as stated in the preceding chapter. On the 10th of Feb- 
ruary the expedition advanced further into the wilderness 
and v.as met on the 12th by emissaries of Santana (Santa 
Anna), the greatest chief of the Comanches, who also 
wislied to be informed about its intentions in invading the 
red men's territory. His inquisitiveness being satisfied 
through the receipt of some presents, von Meusebach, with 
14 companions, set out on a further exploration, wishing 
to reach the old Spanish fort, San Saba, leaving the re- 
mainder of his party in their camp and instructing the 
three American surveyors to make a survey of the sur- 
rounding country. 

On the 18th of February the Spanish fort was reached. 
Although in ruins, the walls were still standing to a height 
of nearly 20 feet, showing that the fort had been 280 feet 
long and 260 feet wide, containing a great number of small 
apartments, presumably the living rooms of the former 
garrisons. The intrepid explorers remained two days at 
the old fort, during which time Dr. Roemer, the geologist, 
who had accompanied the expedition, collected various 
minerals and numerous specimens of petrified plants and 
animals. Then von Meusebach marched back and was 
met on February 27 by Indian scouts, who led him and 
his party to the large Indian village, where, on March 1, 
the great council of peace between him and the Co- 
manches was to take place. 

In this council about 20 Indian chiefs participated, of 
which Mopechucope (Old Owl), Santana and Pochan- 
aquarhip (Buffalo Hump) were the most prominent. At 
the time of the midday sun they all arrived at the prear- 
ranged meeting place, sitting down in solemn silence on 
buffalo skins spread out in a wide circle around the camp- 
fire, on the embers of which the pipe of peace was to be 
lighted. Von Meusebach opened this momentous meet- 



German Element in Teicas 99 

ing with the following- address, which was translated by the 
Indian interpreter, Jim Shaw, who had arrived with Major 
Neighbors. 

(Translation of a report published in the Magazin fiir 
Literatur des Auslandes, 1847.) 
My Brethren: 

I have come a long way to see you and to smoke the pipe 
of peace with you. I hope you will listen to the words that 
I am going to speak to you, for they are words of truth 
and sincerity, as it is the German's custom. My father's 
people, which are a martial people, brave and well armed, 
as you have seen, sent me out and I came with part of my 
people from far away from across the great waters ; we 
have joined the Americans, they are our brothers, and 
we all live now under the same great father, the Presi- 
dent. 

You have lately made peace with the chiefs of that 
great father. That you may learn to know my people, 
your present neighbors, and live with them as brothers, 
I want to consult with you and make a special treaty of 
peace. Many of my countrymen live near the water that 
you call Guadaloupe, and many more near another river 
that we call Pedernales. There they live close together in 
tents, huts and houses. Now, I intend to come with part 
of my people to the Llano and there make our homes for- 
ever. My countrymen are industrious and thrifty and know 
how to win from the earth many things that you like to 
eat and they will always have plenty for themselves and 
their brothers. But few who cultivate the soil, like to chase 
the fleeing deer or to kill the buffalo. We do not fear war, 
but we prefer peace, and if you are willing to wander with 
our people on the white path of peace, it will gladden the 
hearts of our wives and warriors, and we then wish that 
you should abandon the red warpath and tread on the path 
that is white and visit our people, our cities, villages and 



100 German Element in Texas 

wigwams. When we are friends, w^e shall always share our 
meals with you, whenever you come to us hungry. If you 
choose the path of peace with us, you will always receive 
corn, white flour, sweet sugar and the brown water 
(coffee), also meat of different kind, and you can ex- 
change for it your skins, horses, and mules, and your 
squaws and children will know where to receive that, 
which will gladden their hearts, when they are hungry. 
I now make the following proposition : 

1. My countrymen have the permission to go and travel 
where they please, and no harm must be done to them, but 
you must protect them everywhere. On the other hand, 
your people can come to our wigwams and cities without 
fear and can go wherever they please and shall be protected 
as long as they wander on the white path. 

2. You the chiefs, and your people will assist us and re- 
port to us, when bad men and redfaces of other tribes steal 
our horses or intend other felonies, and we shall do the 
same, when you are attacked. 

3. I am going to send men with the thing that steals the 
land (compasses), as the red men call it, and will survey 
the whole country of the San Saba as far as the Concho 
and other waters, so that we may know the boundaries 
where we can go and till the soil. And if you are willing 
after consultation with your warriors, to make this treaty, 
then I will give you and your squaws many presents, or 
equal them with the white pieces of metal, that we call 
dollars, and give you as many as one thousand and more 
of them. 

But I do not propose this treaty in order to drive you 
from your hunting grounds. My people are going to build 
their wigwams where there is the proper soil for the rais- 
ing of corn and other plants and we shall dwell and live 
together like brothers, for it is but little of the land that 
we are going to occupy, and much will remain for you and 
your constant abodes. You do neither grow corn nor do 



German Element in Te.vas 101 

you raise cattle or domestic animals, but live by himting, 
striking your tents, made of buffalo skins, today in one 
place, tomorrow in another. When the buffalo has gone 
northward, and the fleet deer deep into the forest, when 
you cannot kill any more game with bow and arrow, when 
the grass is wizen, when your horses have lost flesh and 
the north wind confines you in your wigwams, then come 
to my people and exchange what you have for the necessi- 
ties of life. j\Iany of you are often now hungry for days 
— then you will always have plenty to eat, for my people 
will raise on little ground more than we need for our sup- 
port. 

I cannot tell now exactly where I shall erect the wig- 
wams and houses of my people, but it will be near or at 
the water, that you call Llano. I wish you to consider 
well what I say. 

When my people has lived with you for some time, and 
when we know each other better, then it may happen that 
some wish to marry. Soon our warriors will learn your 
language. If they then wish to wed a girl of your tribe, 
I do not see any obstacle, and our people will be sn much 
better friends. 

When we agree on this treaty, I shall go and fetch the 
presents and will be ready to sign the treaty solemnly, at 
the latest when the disk of the moon has rounded twice. 
I hope that you will agree with me, and I conjure the 
earth, our common mother, that I have not spoken with a 
divided tongue. I have no more to say to my brethren. I 
hear what they are going to reply. 

On the 2d day of March, in another council meeting. 
Chief Mopechucope gave the following answer : 

"My friend and father has come a long way to see me. 
I have heard his words and believe and trust to what he 
said yesterday at the meeting to the chiefs. The hearts 
of my people are gladdened after having listened to my 
father's words. 



102 German Element in Tcras 

"I formerly saw a black streak under my finger nail, 
but today I see that it is white. My heart rejoices to see 
the people that came from so far over the great water 
to see us. 

"I have spoken to my people. I have consulted with 
the warriors and with the old men. We shall abandon the 
war path and travel on the white path of peace, as my 
father proposed yesterday, and I will do my utmost that we 
remain forever on this path, after the treaty has been 
made. 

"But I perceive something that is not dear to my heart, 
when you now are going to build your wigwams at the 
water called the Llano. I know that the people, that calls 
itself Texans, want to erect a barrier between us and the 
palefaces and I must speak first with the Comanches far- 
ther away, because I do not want to promise anything and 
break my word afterwards. When the grass is growing 
again, the Comanches will meet and I hope tbat I can re- 
move all difficulties. My intention is to walk the path 
of peace under all circumstances on this side of the Brazos 
River. I have no more to say." 

To this von Meusebach answered at once as follows : 

"My brother has spoken — I have listened to his words 
and weighed them. The hearts of our women and chil- 
dren will be gladdened when they listen to the words of 
peace uttered by my brother. He is not opposed to our 
building our wigwams at the banks of the water called 
Llano. My brother will walk the white path of peace and 
he will speak with the other Comanches and they will listen 
to the words of their chief. 

"My brother speaks of a barrier between the redmen 
and the palefaces. I do not disdain my red brethren be- 
cause their skin is darker, and I do not think more of the 
white people because their complexion is lighter. If our 
father, the President, wishes to draw this line of distinc- 
tion, he may do 5(5, I shall not see it, because we are broth- 



German Element in Texas 103 

ers and will live together like brothers. My people has 
nothing to do with the redmen on the other side of the 
Brazos. We do not wish to make a treaty of peace with 
them but only with the brave Comanches, my brethren. 
I have spoken." 

Chief Mopechucope replied: 

"My heart is glad to hear what my brother said. I 
shall come with my people to the place you call Fredericks- 
burg, as soon as the moon has been full the second time. 
When you are ready to receive us, send us the messenger 
whom we can trust, to have been sent by you, and we shall 
come to sign the treaty of peace as you have promised. 
This is my speech." 

Then Chief Santa Anna spoke as follows : 

"My brothers, we have listened to your words. Our 
people will do what we, the highest chiefs, are going to 
decide upon and ordain. We hope that all is true what 
you have said. This will be proven when it comes to the 
ratification of the treaty and to the presents. I believe 
you and your people are friendly disposed toward us. I 
have seen our great father in Washington. We have made 
a good treaty of peace with him. I hope that the treaty 
we are about to make with you and your people, will be 
just as good and sound. I have not forgotten our great 
father's speech. It is engraved in my heart and I see him 
every morning when I awake, as he was in Washington 
and as he spoke to me. I hope, my German brother is like 
my great father. I hope he has a wide, white heart, like 
my father, the President, for all his children. My brother 
will walk the white path of peace and keep it with my 
people, as the path of peace has been kept until now with 
my great father. And the white path will be wide and lead 
to his door, to his heart, and to the hearts of the German 
people, so that my people can use it and remain on it with- 
out fear of treachery. I have spoken." 

Chief Buffalo-Hump remarked: "Do not believe that I 



104 German Element in Terras 

am opposed to anything, because I have not spoken. My 
friends have spoken. My chiefs and my warriors have 
consulted. My people have listened. I agree with all that 
Mopechucope and Santana have said. I have spoken." 

This ended the important council and later, as agreed 
upon, the treaty of peace between the German pioneers 
and the Comanches was ratified at Fredericksburg. 
Through this treaty the land concession acquired by the 
Adelsverein had at last become of some value to the Ger- 
man immigrants. Before von Meusebach's treaty with the 
Indians it had been but a negligible quantity, and the more 
so because the Government of Texas had declined to ren- 
der any assistance to the Verein in its endeavor to reach a 
friendly understanding with the Indians, who had abso- 
lute control of the land. 

We cannot but admire the courage of von Meusebach, 
who, with a few followers, fearlessly penetrated into the 
unknov/n territory, but must also give due credit to the 
able and skilled manner in which he dealt with the feroci- 
ous and warlike Comanches, inducing them to sign a treaty, 
which opened the hitherto forbidden land to German set- 
tlements. 

The opening of this vast territory of 3,000,000 acres to 
civilization and cultivation is without doubt the most im- 
portant pioneer work of the Germans in Texas, and could 
only be accomplished through the absolute confidence the 
Indians placed in the Germans' promises and pledges. The 
Lone Star State owes a debt of gratitude to the early Ger- 
man settlers of the San Saba territory, and their courage 
and perseverance deserve proper mention in all Texas 
histories. 

While the Indians trusted the pledges of the Germans 
implicitly, and were treated with every consideration possi- 
ble by the German settlers, there were, nevertheless a 
number of conflicts between them and roving bands of 
redskins, who, on their foraging expeditions, laid their 



German Element in TeaYts 105 

hands on everything in sight, and horses and cattle had to 
be carefully guarded. Of the different Indian attacks and 
depredations, the following deserve to be mentioned, viz. : 
In the fall of 1846, a camp of immigrants v^^as suddenly 
attacked on the banks of the Guadaloupe River, and in 
the fight that followed, several of the immigrants were 
killed. In 1847, Lieutenant von Wrede and two compan- 
ions were treacherously killed by Indians between Austin 
and Piedernales, and in the same year several settlers were 
wounded while working in their gardens at Fredericksburg. 
The Comanches remained friendly while their Chief San- 
tana, v/ho was a staunch friend of the Germans, lived ; but 
after he had died in 1848, a victim of cholera, and espe- 
cially after the arrival of United States troops, who estab- 
lished Fort Mason, the Comanches gradually became as 
unreliable friends as the Lipans. In 1855, Herman Runge, 
son of Dr. Runge of Sisterdale, was killed and scalped in 
a field of A. Dresel's farm by several Comanches, who 
also stole a number of horses from Dr. Runge's farm. A 
pursuit to avenge the death of young Runge was futile, 
as the marauding Indians had a start of almost twelve 
hours. On February 13, 1863, Heinrich Arhelger was 
killed by a band of Indians near Fredericksburg after a 
valiant fight on his side, during which he killed one In- 
dian with a bullet from his revolver and wounded several 
others. The Indians must have beaten a hasty retreat, as 
they did not even scalp the victim of their villainous at- 
tack. In October, 1863, Conrad and Heinrich Meckel of 
Fredericksburg were murdered by a band of Indians on the 
road between Loyal Valley and Cherry Springs, w-hile they 
were resting, and probably had fallen asleep. They were 
robbed of everything, but not scalped. In the spring of 
1864, Rudolph Fischer, the twelve-year-old son of Gottlieb 
Fischer of Fredericksburg, was kidnaped. Twelve years 
later he returned and tried to lead again a civilized life, 
but he had been Indianized to such an extent, and the broad 



106 German Element in Texas 

prairies of West Texas had so enthralled him, that in less 
than one year he discarded his civilian garb, dressed in 
Indian fashion, painted his face red and rode off, never to 
return. 

On February 8, 1865, four Indians waylaid Miss Anna 
Metzger, 20 years old, and her younger sister Katherine, 
13 years old, on their way from Fredericksburg to their 
father's farm, north of the city, and after having assaulted 
both girls, they lifted them on their horses to carry them 
off. The older girl, trying to escape in the bushes that 
flanked the road, was killed by an arrow and horribly mu- 
tilated by the savages. The younger sister, after some 
months of hard life among the Indians, was taken by her 
captors to the Indian agent to be offered to him for sale, 
it then being the custom that the Indian agents bought the 
white captives of the Indians, the military forces not being 
strong enough to effectively cope against the numerous 
Indian tribes and force them to return their white preys. 
The price the Indians asked for the liberation of the girl 
seemed too high to the agent and the bargain was not con- 
cluded on the first day. During the night, the girl escaped 
the vigilance of her captors and hid in a nearby cornfield, 
from where she was released on the following afternoon by 
the agent and returned to her distracted parents. 

In August of the same year, Mr. Heinrich Kensing, a 
farmer on Beaver Creek, Gillespie County, returning home 
with his wife from a visit at his brother's farm, on the 
Squavv' Creek, was attacked by six Comanche Indians on 
horseback, and he and his wife were both murdered and 
scalped. 

In the year 1867, four women were taken by Comanches 
from a blockhouse in which they had sought refuge during 
the absence of their husbands ; one of them was assaulted 
and killed, the other three being carried off by the savages 
and nothing was heard of them any more. In 1868 or 1869, 
Hermann Lehmann was kidnaped by Comanches in Mason 



German Element in Texas 107 

County. He remained several years among them, but re- 
turned to his widowed mother and became a prosperous 
farmer. 

Several other atrocities and murders were committed by 
the redskins until late in the seventies, but in the whole, 
the German pioneers of West Texas had not to suffer as 
much as the early settlers in Nebraska, Minnesota and 
Dakota, a result of the fair treatment that was invariably 
accorded the Indians by the Germans. 






CHAPTER XX. 

Collapse of the Adelsverein. 

The expedition of von Meusebach to the Llano-San Saba 
territory and his treaty with the Indians were his last of- 
ficial acts of importance as commissioner general of the 
Adelsverein. Before leaving New Braunfels on this ex- 
pedition he had sent to the directorate with his report of 
January 19, 1847, his irrevocable resignation. This was, 
probably reluctantly, accepted, and on July 20, 1847, von 
Meusebach turned the office over to his successor, Her- 
mann Spiess. For over two years von Meusebach had 
conducted the affairs of the Adelsverein in Texas under 
the most trying conditions in an able manner, and although 
he sometimes was arbitrary in his actions and decisions, 
he unquestionably deserves the highest credit and appre- 
ciation for his unselfishness, determination, prompt action 
and personal courage, qualifications that enabled him to 
be of real service to the thousands of immigrants thrust 
upon his care by the senseless haste with which the emi- 
grants were sent to Texas by the Adelsverein. 

Under the auspices of the Verein a total of 7380 immi- 
grants had come to Texas, viz. : 

In 1844 700 immigrants 

In 1845 4,304 immigrants 

In 1846 2,376 immigrants 

Most immigrants, arriving at Galveston in 1847, number- 
ing 8000, according to Franz Loeher in his "History and 
Conditions of the Germans in America" (Cincinnati and 
Leipzig, 1849), did not come any more under the auspices 
of the Adelsverein, the activity of which had practically 
ceased with the end of the year 1846. 

The unavoidable catastrophe was on hand. It was the 



German Element in Texas 109 

logical sequence of the inconceivably childish credulity 
with which Count Castell, the managing director of the 
Adelsverein, had fallen victim to the shrewd schemes of 
Bourgeois and Fisher, his utter lack of business ability and 
the total ignorance of conditions existing in Texas. Fur- 
thermore the capital of $80,000 was entirely inadequate 
for an enterprise of the magnitude of the hazy coloniza- 
tion project of the Adelsverein, an enterprise that would 
have required a capital of perhaps $1,000,000 to make it 
successful. And even then it might have been a failure 
after the purchase of the Fisher and Miller grant and un- 
der such incompetent management at that of Count Cas- 
tell. When on July 22, 1844, he signed the agreement with 
H. F. Fisher, which was nothing but a simple assumption 
of the rights and obligations of Fisher and Miller, he 
believed that he had actually purchased several millions 
of acres of land, and without knowing anything about 
that land, he informed the public on December 11, 1844, 
tl'at the Adelsverein had acquired these extraordinary fer- 
tile lands on the right banks of the Colorado River. It 
seems that Count Castell neither made himself acquainted 
with the wording of the contract between the Adelsverein 
and Fisher and Miller, nor that he had any knowledge 
whatever of the colonization laws of Texas, whither he in- 
tended to send thousands of families. 

Count Waldeck had advised against colonization on an 
extensive plan, and had declared the Fisher and Miller 
grant an undesirable location, as it was almost 300 miles 
from the sea coast, but his sound advice was not heeded 
and now, after the short colonization period of less than 
three years, and an accumulated debt of several hundred 
thousand dollars, the commissioner general in Texas was 
informed that the Adelsverein was unable to fulfill its 
promises and obligations, and that the colonists at New 
Braunfels and Fredericksburg had to get along the best 
way they could. The bubble had burst and the hopes of 



110 German Element in Texas 

several thousand men, women and children, who had im- 
plicitly trusted the words and pledges of princes and lords, 
were ruthlessly shattered. 

Great was the consternation and great the misery when 
in the summer of 1847 the announcement was made by 
Commissioner Spiess in both settlements that the Adels- 
verein was hopelessly bankrupt, and that the colonists 
were left to their own resources. Not one of these unfor- 
tunate people would have remained at either New Braun- 
fels or Fredericksburg, if he had possessed the means of 
returning to the fatherland that he had left only a short 
time ago with fine hopes and under such glittering prom- 
ises. But it proved well for them that they were forced 
to remain at these primitive settlements. After the first 
outbursts of despair and agony were over, they all set de- 
terminedly to work, and by hard and persistent labor in 
cultivating their ten acres, and living on the barest neces- 
sities of life for several years, they not only succeeded in 
establishing a firm existence for themselves and their 
families, but in course of time made New Braunfels and 
Fredericksburg the garden spots of Texas. These Ger- 
man settlers, toiling incessantly under adverse conditions 
for civilization, performed a most noble pioneer work, and 
are entitled to our highest admiration. Texas would not 
be what it is today, if these brave men and women of the 
forties of the last century had not unflinchingly and fear- 
lessly taken upon themselves the dangerous and onerous 
task of clearing this West Texas wilderness and preparing 
for the farmer a vast agricultural region, where, before 
their arrival the Indians hunted and large buffalo herds 
roamed undisturbed over the boundless prairies. 

When the collapse of the Adelsverein was announced in 
Texas the farm Nassau, in Fayette County, became the 
bone of contention. "Dr." Schubert, the colonial director 
of Fredericksburg, whose real name was Strohberg, and 
who was a bankrupt tobacco merchant from Cassel, where 



German Element in Texas 111 

H. F. Fisher, who recommended him to von Meusebach, 
was also born, then believed the time ripe to get posses- 
sion of this valuable plantation of 4428 acres. Some time 
in 1846 Schubert had obtained a lease for eight years on 
the farm Nassau from von Meusebach. In 1847, H. Wilke, 
the lessee, threw up his contract on account of sickness, 
and then Adolph Benner, later for many years postmaster 
at New Braunfels, was appointed superintendent of the 
farm, because Schubert had not given or could not give 
any security for payment of the rent for the plantation. 
But he was determined to get possession of it by any 
means. 

One morning he appeared at the farm with two wit- 
nesses and demanded surrender of all the property to him 
on account of the contract made previously with von 
Meusebach. According to instructions Benner refused to 
turn over the property and Schubert left the place. A 
few days later he reappeared with two Americans, one of 
whom represented himself as the Sheriff of Fayette County 
and read an English paper to Benner, stating that it was 
an order from the County Court at LaGrange, demanding 
the surrender of the farm and all implements to Dr. Schu- 
bert. Benner, as well as his assistant, Ernest Soergel, who 
both had been in Texas only a few months, and did not 
understand English, now complied with the demand, and 
vacated the property. Coming to LaGrange, they were 
greatly surprised to hear, that the court there had not is- 
sued any such order and that the whole affair was a trick 
of Schubert to get possession of the farm. He had been 
successful, and for some months remained in undisputed 
possession, keeping a small American bodyguard for the 
protection of himself and his property, among them, the 
two men, J. Bostick and G. W. Breeding, who had im- 
personated the sheriff and his deputy. 

After an unsuccessful attempt made by Commissioner 
General Spiess on October 28, 1847, to oust Schubert from 



112 German Element in Teocas 

Nassau by force, during which an American named Sum- 
mers, and a German painter, by name of Rohrdorf, were 
killed, the claims of Schubert were finally compromised 
by paying $4000, after which he returned to Germany. 
Later he published several sensational novels about Texas 
life under the nom de plume "Armand," that excelled in 
the description of the most thrilling adventures and bloody 
combats. 

Then Otto von Roeder was appointed superintendent 
of the farm Nassau. In 1849 he bought the property from 
the bankrupt Adelsverein for $18,000, which amount the 
Adelsverein owed him for corn and flour, and sold part 
of the lands in small tracts to new German settlers. Two 
years later, in 1851, execution of a judgment of $150 
against the defunct Adelsverein was ordered by the court 
at LaGrange and as von Roeder steadfastly refused to 
pay this, the remaining property of farm Nassau was sold 
at sheriff's sale to Mr. James Chandler for 4 cents the 
acre. The appeal of von Roeder was carried to the United 
States Supreme Court. This tribunal rendered its final de- 
cision in 1865, in which it declared that the Adelsverein 
had never been the legal owner of farm Nassau, as it was 
neither incorporated in Germany, nor in the United States. 
The judgment of the lower court was confirmed and von 
Roeder lost all. 

Herman Spiess, who had been tried for the murder of 
Captain Summers at LaGrange in the fall of 1848 and ac- 
quitted by a jury composed of none but Americans, re- 
mained commissioner general of the Adelsverein in Texas 
until 1852, but had very little to do, except representing 
the Verein in litigation before the courts of Fayette, Bexar, 
and Harris Counties. He was replaced in 1852 by former 
Lieutenant Bene, who was the last official representative 
of the Adelsverein in Texas. After another year of prac- 
tical inactivity the Verein withdrew finally from Texas, 
by assigning on September 13, 1853, all its property in 



German Element in Texas 113 

Texas, and all rights derived from the colonization grant 
to its Texas creditors. This was the ignominious finale 
of the ostentatious colonization enterprise of (iernian no- 
bility, conceived in arrogance and carried out in the most 
incompetent manner imaginable. 

After the actual collapse of the Adelsverein Fisher and 
Miller tried to reap the profits of the land grant that they 
had sold to the Adelsverein for themselves. On August 
23, 1851, they appeared before Granville H. Sherwood, 
commissioner for the Fisher and Miller grant, and stated 
under oath that the German Immigration Company (the 
Adelsverein), had introduced and settled in Texas 1600 
families and 1000 single men, and therefore was entitled 
to 160 sections of 640 acres each and 100 half sections of 
320 acres, a total of 134,400 acres, as the stipulated pre- 
mium for the settling of European immigrants. It will be 
remembered that Fisher and Miller were represented by 
three votes in the "Colonialrat" of the Adelsverein, but in 
1851, this committee had ceased to exist for several years. 
Despite this fact, Fisher and Miller had procured judg- 
ment, which ordered that the certificates and title to these 
134,400 acres should be made out in their name. Com- 
missioner Sherwood did so, but the Commissioner of the 
General Land Office refused to issue the patents for the 
land demanded. When the petition of Fisher and Miller 
to legalize their claim came up in the House of Repre- 
sentatives in the spring of 1852, the Hon. Sam Maverick 
of Bexar County, opposed it vehemently in a forceful 
speech that concluded with the following words : 

"They (Fisher and Miller) say that they have judgment 
for their claim ; it is a snap judgment secured in a dark 
corner; it is a fraud, a fraud!" The House then rejected 
the petition. (Meusebach. Ans. p. 9.) 



CHAPTER XXI. 
Criticism of the Adelsverein. 

Much has been written about the Adelsverein. Dr. F. 
Kapp, A. Siemering, J. von Meusebach, William von Ro- 
senberg. L. F. Lafrentz, A. Eickhoff, Alvin H. Soergel, 
Dr. Roenier and G. G. Benjamin have all contributed to its 
pathetic history. They all are unanimous in their strong 
condemnation of its methods, but some of them vary 
greatly about the motives, that induced German princes 
and noblemen to engage in an emigration and coloniza- 
tion project, while some of the authors mentioned above do 
not touch the interesting, but intricate question of the 
motives of the Adelsverein at all. 

Eickhoff simply calls the enterprise "A tragedy of er- 
rors," while Dr. Kapp, who visited Texas in 1852, reaches 
the following conclusion: "I am far from accusing this 
noble association, as has been often done, of an intentional 
deception of the emigrants, or of a speculation for mon- 
etary gain. This accusation is absurd, because men of the 
exalted position of the founders of the Adelsverein, and 
among them very wealthy princes, would have found much 
nearer and safer places for speculation, if they really wished 
to engage in it, than the then uncivilized Texas. Aside 
from this, considering the most honorable, public spirited 
and unblemished character of the members of the Verein, 
I am firmly convinced of their philanthropic intentions. 
As thev spoke in their pul)lic announcements, men only 
can speak who are firmly convinced of the purity and un- 
selfishness of their enterprise." (F. Kapp, "Aus und iiber 
America," Berlin, 1876.) 

A. Siemering, on the other hand, asserts that the Adels- 
verein was organized and manipulated in the interest of 
England and was paid by the English Government to di- 



German Element in Teccas 115 

rect German immigration to Texas, for the purpose of pre- 
venting annexation to the United States and abolishing 
slavery in Texas, thus erecting a barrier against the 
spreading of slavery, as well as against the extension of 
the United States. 

I am constrained to differ with both Kapp and Siem- 
ering. The latter's assumption that the Adelsverein was 
an agency of British diplomacy and was subsidized by 
England, is made without any basis of truth and unsub- 
stantiated by any documentary evidence. Siemering was 
an inveterate revolutionist, who hated the very name of 
royalty or prince, and this bitter aversion led him to im- 
pute sinister motives to any of their actions. His impu- 
tation does not deserve serious consideration. 

It is true that England wished to prevent annexation 
of Texas to the United States and that the English Gov- 
ernment and the strong abolitionist party in England fa- 
vored the abolishment of slavery as much in Texas as 
anywhere, but when the Adelsverein started its coloniza- 
tin movement in the fall of 1844, all chances of England 
to get control of Texas by advancing a loan to the Re.- 
public and making a commercial treaty with it, had van- 
ished through the election of Polk to the presidency of 
the United States in 1844, which meant the final annexa- 
tion of Texas. Before the news of Polk's election spread 
in Texas, Anson Jones, opposed to annexation and leaning 
toward England, which had dropped its former demand 
for abolishment of slavery in Texas in return of En- 
gland's recognition of the independence of Texas, had 
been elected President of the Republic and for a short 
time it seemed as if England would yet receive control 
of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. Prince Solms, who was 
then at Galveston, sent President Jones the following let- 
ter, dated December 3. 1844: 
"To His Excellency, President Anson Jones. 

"Honored Sir: I send you these lines to express my 



116 German Element in Texas 

deep regret that I cannot be present at your inauguration 
as President of the Republic, but, my emigrants having 
just arrived, makes my presence at Lavaca Bay impera- 
tive. I spoke today with General Duff Green, Consul of 
the United States in Galveston, and from his words I 
could instantly interpret the meaning of his mission. He 
spoke of a threatening attack by Mexico and advises an- 
nexation to the United States. It is my duty to inform 
you, that my last dispatches from Europe apprise me that 
annexation would mean a possible war between England 
and the United States. Green shall urge us to a war with 
Mexico, and promises assistance of the United States. 

"I am at your service and ready to visit Santa Anna, or in 
any other way to act according to your wishes. 

"Karl, Prince von Solms." 

All European citizens of Texas were against annexation, 
because they were against slavery and believed this odious 
institution could be more easily abolished if Texas re- 
mained independent, than if it should join the United 
States. 

Captain George Elliot, the English diplomatic agent for 
Texas, offered an English loan of £5,000,000 sterling and 
exerted his whole influence against annexation, and as 
the Oregon question became an important factor at that 
time, the situation seemed favorable for England's aspira- 
tions in regard to Texas. But President Tyler and his 
Secretary of State, Calhoun, were equal to the occasion 
and the Gordian knot of the Texas question was settled 
on the last day of President Tyler's administration, when 
on March 3, 1845, he signed the joint resolution of Con- 
gress authorizing the annexation of Texas. On the same 
day Calhoun sent a dispatch to Texas, offering the army 
and navy of the United States to Texas in case of war 
with Mexico, and the American agents kept up an active 
agitation, urging the people of Texas "to return to their 
father's home." In a general election, held on October 



German Element in Terras 117 

13, 1845, the annexation of Texas was almost unanimously 
ratified, and on February 19, 1846, President Anson Jones 
handed over the executive authority to Pinckney Hen- 
derson, first Governor of the State of Texas. 

Thus, the annexation of Texas to the United States, 
that had dragged for almost ten years, was accomplished 
and, as demonstrated, above, the Adelsverein could not be 
of any service to England's aspirations, although its in- 
terest lay in the same direction. 

An independent Republic of Texas, politically and finan- 
cially weak, was more favorable, yea, even indispensable, to 
the purpose of the Adelsverein than the sovereign State of 
Texas, a member of the powerful United States. The real 
object of the Adelsverein, as expressed in their first declar- 
ation from Biebrich in 1842, was "the purchase and acqui- 
sition of lands in the free State of Texas." Through the 
arbitrary actions of Napoleon, later sanctioned by the 
Congress of Vienna, many petty principalities in Western 
Germany had been abolished, and their former sovereign 
rulers were reduced to simple lords of their private fam- 
ily estates. These estates were entailed by the law of pro- 
geniture to fall always to the eldest son or nearest malo 
heir, leaving the other sons and daughters of these de- 
posed princes and landgraves in comparative indigence 
and dependency. Then Texas arose as the bright star of 
hope from its unknown darkness through the glowing de- 
scriptions of Hecke, Sealsfield, Duden and others, and 
as these noble lords had but a very dim knowledge of the 
real conditions in Texas, they readily grasped the idea 
of procuring estates for their offspring in this land of 
fabled beauty and grandeur. The philanthropy of v.hich 
Dr. Kapp speaks, was exclusively directed toward their 
sons and relatives, for which they desired to establish large 
estates on which they could live properly as lords and 
barons. The German immigrants were simply a necessity 
and the Adelsverein expected that the princes and counts 



118 German Element in Terras 

would be able to keep them always in a kind of dependency 
so that they had some real subjects to rule. This might 
have been barely possible if Texas had remained an inde- 
pendent republic, but as a sovereign State of the great 
American Union, Texas was no longer a proper field for 
aristocratic feudal estates. As soon as it became known 
in Europe that the annexation of Texas was a foregone 
conclusion. Prince Solms' mission had come to an end. 
He was recalled and glad to leave a country, the very air 
of which seemed to infuse democratic tendencies into 
former loyal subjects, who had grossly offended the 
Prince's feelings by hoisting a Texas flag on the square 
in New Braunfels, while Prince Solms had unfurled the 
Austrian banner (there being no German flag in 1845) on 
the Sophienburg. 

That the Adelsverein, or its leading director. Count 
Castell, showed very little consideration for the emigrants, 
is sufficiently demonstrated by the careless manner in 
which the financial matters were handled, which for him 
and the members of the general committee seemed always 
to be of secondary importance. To one of von Meuse- 
bach's many appeals for funds, he briefly answered on 
March 24, 1846: *'The general committee did make the 
mistake of sending the immigrants, but not the money re- 
quired for their transportation." 

The history of the Adelsverein was not only a tragedy 
of errors, as Eickhoff says, but a gross and inexcusable 
deception from beginning to end, probably an uninten- 
tional deception, as F. Kapp states, but, nevertheless, a 
deception that was almost criminal and that points to a 
very poor development of the intellectual faculties of its 
leading members. 

Some writers state that Count Castell wished to emu- 
late the British East India Company in Texas. This as- 
sumption seems almost too far fetched for serious consid- 
eration, but, if the Adelsverein and Count Castell should 



German Element in Texas 119 

have harbored such an al)surcl idea, it is only further proof 
of the haziness of their immature plans. The Adels- 
verein was the direct opposite of the East India Company. 
The latter was an organization of shrewd and energetic 
business men, having a set purpose in mind that was car- 
ried out systematically and with an unwavering determi- 
nation, while the princes and lords of the Adelsverein 
were as incompetent in business affairs as children and 
their plans visionary and totally impracticable. Business 
men were rigorously barred from this association "inter 
pares." Then the conditions existing in India were en- 
tirely different from those in Texas. The East Indies 
were a country inhabited by more than 150,000,000 people, 
who enjoyed a certain Oriental civilization, and were ready 
to buy European manufactured goods in exchange for the 
rich tropical products of their fertile country, their gold 
and precious stones, while Texas in 1844 did not have 
more than 120,000 white inhabitants and otherwise was 
almost barren of civilization and cultivation. There were 
no articles of export in Texas besides cotton, and its needs 
for industrial products of Europe were insignificant. 

It is therefore hardly conceivable that the Adelsverein, 
or Count Castell, even with their limited knowledge of 
Texas, entertained the plan of a commercial organization, 
and the plain fact remains that they only hoped to acquire 
extensive landed estates for their families with the least 
possible expense. Ottomar von Behr in his book, '"Ad- 
vice to Immigrants" (Leipzig, 1847), says that "the Adels- 
verein wished to establish in Texas a feudal State, which 
would lend money to the settlers, and, by keeping them in 
a more or less dependent state, they would be treated, in 
a way, as mere subjects." 

To satisfy this desire was the Adelsverein's first and 
only aim, and on accourit of a total ignorance of Texas and 
a stupendous credulity the directorate of the society of 
noblemen fell an easy prey to scheming promoters, but 



120 German Element in Texas 

it is not only subjected to severest criticism for the de- 
plorable inefficiency with which the financial affairs were 
conducted, but must also be condemned for the wanton 
sacrifice of hundreds of lives of immigrants who had im- 
plicit faith in the pledges and promises of their princes 
and sovereigns. 

Although the Adelsverein had been practically bank- 
rupt since the beginning of 1847, the directorate of this 
society still continued to make contracts, promising not 
only land, but also a small block house to each emigrant, 
but the latter was never furnished, and even the land was 
generally so far from any organized settlement that many 
of the prospective settlers preferred to drop their con- 
tract with the Adelsverein when they reached Galveston. 
The diary of C. Groos, grandfather of Hon. C. J. von Ro- 
senberg, LaGrange, shows that he emigrated to Texas 
in the fall of 1848 under a contract with the Adelsverein, 
according to which he was to receive 320 acres of good, 
tillable land and a block house. After his landing at 
Galveston v/ith his family of eight children, he found 
that he could neither receive the land nor the house. He 
therefore went to Fayette County, where he bought a small 
tract of the farm Nassau from von Roeder, who then was 
the de facto owner of this farm. Von Roeder gave Groos 
credit for the $100 paid by the latter to the Adelsverein for 
free transportation to West Texas and the promised house, 
and even allowed $40 interest, of the eight children of C. 
Groos, who arrived in Texas wnth their father in 1848, 
three are still living, Mrs. Emilie Giesecke and Adolph 
Groos of San Antonio and Mrs. Wilhelmina Giesecke, 
widow of Captain Julius Giesecke. at New Braunfels. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
The Revolution of 1848 and Its Effects on German Emi- 
gration. 

In the year 1848 continental Europe experienced another 
momentous political upheaval. The signal was again given 
in Paris, where on February 24, Louis Philipp of Orleans, 
the citizen-king, was forced to abdicate and the republic 
proclaimed. This was followed in March by a general up- 
rising of the people in Berlin, Vienna and many other cities 
throughout the German States. "Down with Metternich and 
his system," was not only the cry of the inhabitants of Vi- 
enna, but was shouted aloud by the infuriated masses every- 
where in Germany. The Emperor of Austria and the King 
of Prussia were compelled to grant their people the long 
promised constitutional government, but the uprising in 
Baden in 1849 was forcibly put down by Prussian regiments, 
and the reaction following forced many of the best German 
patriots who had taken part in the revolution to seek safety 
in Switzerland, England and America. 

This exodus of university professors, literary men, artists 
and students from every German State was considerably 
augmented by thousands of mechanics and farmers who 
were driven from their homes by unbearable administrative 
ordinances and annoying police surveillance, and "the Forty- 
eighters," as these immigrants were generally called, were 
soon to be found in great numbers in New York, Illinois, 
Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin. Missouri and Texas. The wave 
of immigration ran high in 1848 and 1849, ^"^ the quota 
that Texas received did certainly not fall much below the 
number of immigrants in 1847, when, according to Franz 
von Loeher, 8000 Germans landed in Galveston. It is im- 
possible to state the accurate number as all shipping lists 
from 18401860 were destroyed in the Galveston storm of 
1900. 



122 German Element in Texas 

Most of the German immigrants coming to Texas were 
peasants and mechanics, but as in the early thirties, so it 
was in 1848 and 1849, ^^'^^^ quite a number of highly edu- 
cated men were among them. The most noted of them 
were Dr. Adolf Douay, Dr. E. Runge, Ed Degener, Ottmar 
von Behr, A. von Westphal, Prof. Rodius, Dr. Ernst Kapp, 
Julius Dressel, Captain E. B. H. Schneider and Dr. A. 
Hertzberg. Dr. Douay was the founder of the first Ger- 
man newspaper in San Antonio in 1854, and fearlessly but 
very uncautously advocated abolition of slavery. When the 
tension between pro and antislavery parties grew, he was 
forced to sell his paper and leave the State. Edward Deg- 
ener represented the Fourth Congressional district of Texas 
in Washington from 1870-1874, after which he retired from 
public life, living in San Antonio until his death in 1891, 
beloved and esteemed by thousands of friends. 

Prof. Ernst Kapp, former teacher at the Colleee of Min- 
den, Westphalia, was the author of a scientific "Compara- 
tive Geography" and a brother of Dr. Frederick Kapp, men- 
tioned in a preceding chapter. E. B. H. Schneider, one of 
the founders of the Houston Turnverein in 1854, was cap- 
tain of the Turner Rifles during the war of secession and 
was wounded at Galveston at the capture of the sloop Har- 
riet Lane. He died in Houston, where he had lived for 
54 years, on January i, 1903. Except Captain Schneider, 
all of the men mentioned above had lived for some years 
at Sisterdale, northwest of San Antonio, that became known 
as the Latin settlement. Sisterdale, so named from two 
mountains overlooking the valley and traversed by the Sister 
Creek, formed by two brooks that run in a parallel direc- 
tion for miles, is a most beautiful and romantic spot of 
West Texas. The first house in the valley was built in 
1847 by Lieutenant Colonel Zink, who had plotted New 
Braunfels in 1845, t)ut becoming dissatisfied, had moved 
westward. Being enthusiastic over the picturesque scenery 
of Sisterdale, he decided to make the valley his future home 



German Element in Texas 123 

and built his block house on Sister Creek near where it 
empties into the Guadalupe River. He was soon joined 
by Ottomar von Behr, who erected his home on the west- 
ern banks of the Guadalupe, on a prominence overlooking 
the valley, with a magnificent view of the beautiful pano- 
rama of hills and dale. Then Edward Degener, Professor 
Kapp, Dr. Douay, von Westphal, Dr. Runge, von Donop, 
iron Meusebach and other men of culture and means ar- 
rived, all of whom were accomplished Greek and Latin 
scholars, but, except Degener, knew almost nothing about 
fanning. The "Latin Settlement" had been born— a library 
of the ancient and modern classics was to be found in al- 
most every house and the latest products of literature were 
eagerly read and discussed at the weekly meetings of these 
gentlemen farmers at the school house. It sometimes oc- 
curred at these meetings that Comanches stood listening 
gravely at the open door, while one of the Latin farmers 
was lecturing on the socialistic theories of St. Simon or 
Fourier. Their social life was most refined and reached its 
climax when Prince Paul of Wuerttemberg, brother of the 
reigning King, arrived at Sisterdale. Prince Paul was a 
naturalist and botanist of note and during his extensive 
travels had also come to Texas, where he was highly pleased 
to find real drawing-room conversation on the borders of 
civilization. 

These men of Sisterdale were strict abolitionists and in 
1853 organized a political society, the "Freier Verein" (free 
association), that called a German convention in May, 1854, 
which assembled at San Antonio. Among the resolutions 
adopted by this convention was one declaring that "Slavery 
is an evil and should be abolished." This was in full accord 
with the sentiments of all Germans in Texas, who, like 
Sam Houston, in 1861 tried to prevent Texas from joining 
the secession. In the "San Antonio Zeitung" they had an 
organ that ably and aggressively advocated their abolition- 
istic doctrines and during the war between the States the 



124 German Element in Teocas 

unionistic feeling throughout West Texas was quite pro- 
nounced. 

The Latin Settlement did not survive the Civil War. 
Its fame came to an end with the death or removal of its 
founders. Degener and Dressel were taken to San Antonio 
in 1862 as prisoners of war, and although soon discharged, 
did not return to Sisterdale. Von Donop was killed by In- 
dians, Dr. Runge died and Dr. Knapp returned to Ger- 
many in 1864. O. von Behr died during a voyage to Ger- 
many and others moved to San Antonio or Austin. As in 
the colony Bettina, so in Sisterdale the places of the lit- 
erary men were taken by German farmers, and the scientific 
discussions on the merits of the epics of Virgil and Homer 
were replaced by the more practical conversations about 
agiicultural requirements. 

Many writers of Texas history name Castroville among 
the early German settlements. This is not proper, because 
Henry Castro, the founder, was a Frenchman, and his col- 
onists came mainly from Belgium and Alsace, which in 
1844 still belonged to France, although most of the Alsa- 
tians spoke German and acknowledged to be Germans after 
the Franco-German war of 1870-1871. Castro's grant was 
from 25 to 50 miles v/est of San Antonio in the present 
counties of Medina, Frio and Uvalde, and its location, al- 
though near the Mexican boundary, was, at that time, far 
better adapted to European colonization than the Fisher and 
Miller grant, 150 miles north of it. When Prince Solms 
arrived at San Antonio on July 27, 1844, he at once began 
negotiations for the purchase of 17 leagues (75,276 acres) 
of land directly northeast of Castro's grant and owned by 
a citizen of San Antonio named John McMullen. Castro, 
whose first colonists had just then arrived at San Antonio, 
was absent on his grant, looking for a suitable place to 
establish his first settlement. When he returned to San 
Antonio on July 31, Prince Solms had started for the land 
he expected to buy for the German colonists. Before he 



German Element in Texas 125 

returned, Castro had contracted with McMullen to colonize 
his 17 leagues. In his diary Castro writes the following 
in reference to this transaction : "I understood that if he 
(Prince Solms) negotiated for the occupation of such a 
tract of land, my enterprise would be ruined, and, taking 
advantage of his absence, I entered into negotiations with 
McMullen and with the assistance of one of our most able 
and honorable attorneys, Mr. Vanderlip, made a contract 
with the said John McMullen to colonize his grant on cer- 
tain conditions. When the Prince returned to San Antonio 
he certainly was disappointed." Thus the Adelsverein un- 
fortunately was deprived of a most promising opportunity 
to acquire a large tract of fine farming land, near a city 
and other settlements and admirably suited for German col- 
onization. 

In 1850 the first United States census in Texas was 
taken. Its figures of the number of Germans in Texas is 
far from being correct. It gives 8191 inhabitants as having 
been born in Germany, Under the auspices of the Adels- 
verein alone there had come to Texas 7380 immigrants, 
while in 1847, 1848 and 1849 about 15,000 more Germans 
had arrived, and more than 10.000 from 1830 to 1845. This 
makes a total of about 33,000 Germans in Texas in 1850. 
The number of deaths from 1830 to 1850, despite the fearful 
epidemics at New Braunfels and Fredericksburg in 1846, 
did certainly not exceed the number of births, as these pio- 
neers had plenty of children. In South and Southwest Texas 
many Germans lived in every town and city, while numer- 
ous settlements were entirely German, and have so remained 
to the present day. 

The Germans comprised one-fifth of the total white pop- 
ulation of Texas in 1850. Of these 6000 lived in Eastern 
Texas, about equally divided between Harris and Galveston 
Counties; 10,000 were in Central Texas, in Austin, Wash- 
ington, Fayette, Colorado, ^lilam, Bastrop, Travis and 
other counties, while more than 15,000 lived in Western 



126 German Element in Teocas 

Texas in the present counties of Comal, Bexar, Gillespie, 
Medina, Guadaloupe, De Witt, Victoria, Calhoun, Cald- 
well, Llano, Hays, Kerr and Gonzales. German influence 
in the development of Texas was very pronounced and can 
hardly be overestimated. Their intrepidity opened up a here- 
tofore unknown country and in exposed positions they 
firmly established their settlements and cultivated the virgin 
soil ; they as the first pioneers crossed the rivers and brooks 
of West Texas and won wide stretches of land from the 
Indians for the civilization of the white race. Their noble 
and courageous work should always be properly remem- 
bered. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Industrial Establishments of the Early German Settlers and 

Their Relation to the Anglo-Saxons. 

The generation of the twentieth century purchases almost 
ever}' article or necessity "ready made." Ours is the age 
of factory products, manufactured by the million in the 
large and ever-growing industrial establishments of the 
manufacturing centers and sold in the humblest village 
everywhere. Sixty years ago this was very different. While, 
of course, many factories then also existed in the larger 
cities of the United States, the ready-made article did not 
control and absorb the entire market as at present. The mas- 
ter mechanic had a chance to work in his own shop, and 
aV, articles made by him "to order." bearing a certain stamp 
of individuality, were vastly preferred to goods with the 
trademark of some factory. Now the master mechanic, who 
could once point with pride to the products of his skill and 
workmanship, has almost disappeared, sacrificed on the 
altar of the factory-Moloch and trade monopolies. Whether 
this survival of the fittest in the onward march of civiliza- 
tion must be considered an undisguised blessing for the 
general public, or not, will not be discussed here. 

Texas in 1850, being a new State, sparsely populated and 
far removed from the civilized part of the United States, 
had no factories at all. There were no cities in Texas then 
with more than 5000 inhabitants (Houston, Galveston and 
San Antonio). The nearest city of any consequence was 
New Orleans, that could be reached from Texas only by 
the old San Antonio wagon road or by ship from Galveston, 
a distance of nearly 400 miles. There vv^ere no railroads 
in Texas before i860, when the Houston and Texas Central 
Railroad between Houston and INIillican. 80 miles long, was 
built. Nine-tenths of the population of Texas in 1850 lived 



128 German Element in Texas 

on isolated farms or in small settlements, of which New 
Braunfels, La Grange, Victoria, Fredericksburg, Castro- 
ville, Industry, Indianola, Cat Spring and Dhannies were 
the largest. The pioneer settlers led the most simple life 
imaginable and even the rich men of the cities did not en- 
joy any specail comfort or luxuries. Almost everything 
they used was either homegrown or homemade. 

Life on the plantations, cultivated by slave labor, was 
quite different from that on German farms, or in German 
settlements. The planter and slave owner with his family 
generally indulged in a life of ease and indolence, while 
on the German farms every member of the family worked 
continuously, often even on Sundays, using in Texas the 
same intensive system of agriculture as formerly in Ger- 
many, in order to clear their land not only of the trees, 
brush and weeds, but also of the mortgage in the hands 
of the great land owners, and thus become free and inde- 
pendent farmers in a free country. 

Not only in the German settlements, but also in the 
cities almost all trades and industries were in the hands 
of thrifty and skilled German mechanics and tradesmen, 
while the Americans were generally restricted to the voca- 
tions of lawyers, physicians, civil engineers, bankers and 
brokers, land agents, lumbermen, wholesale merchants, cot- 
ton factors and public officials. With the German immi- 
grants of the thirties and forties a great many expert work- 
men and master mechanics had come to Texas, who con- 
tinued their trade in their new homes as in the Fatherland. 
But also many of the scientific men and the nobles who 
had arrived with the colonists of the Adelsverein, often en- 
gaged in some industrial or commercial enterprise with 
more or less success. Robert Kleberg for some time made 
cigars for the trade, while Dr. Kapp of Sisterdale offered 
his guests with pardonable pride Havanas grown on his 
own field and made with his own hands. Count Henkel von 
Donnersmark and Baron von Nauendorf sold liquor in New 



German Element in Texas 129 

Braunfels. while Baron K. von Zypry dispensed the amber 
fluid of the New Braunfels brewery. Count von Donners- 
mark was also the owner of a grocery and hostelry and 
gained many thousand dollars every year. Dr. Roemer, in 
his book, "Texas" (1849), says: "Army officers, counts, 
barons, noblemen, are seen here transformed to ox drivers, 
teamsters, innkeepers, farmers and servants." 

New Braunfels in 1847 had one physician, two drug 
stores, three bakeries, one brewery, four blacksmith shops, 
one locksmith, one gunsmith, two beer taverns, six carpen- 
ters, five stonemasons, three tanners, one upholsterer, two 
saddlers, eight cabinetmakers, three wagonmakers and one 
carriage factory, one brick kiln, a jeweler, several tailors, 
shoemakers and mechanics of almost every kind. Frederick 
Law Olmstead, who visited Texas in the early fifties, has 
the following to say about the German industries at New 
Braunfels : "I do not think that there is another town in 
the slave States in which the proportion to the whole pop- 
ulation of mechanics or of persons employed in the exercise 
of their own discretion in productive occupations, is one- 
quarter as large as in New Braunfels, unless it be some 
other in which the Germans are the predominating race." 

In Galveston, Houston and San Antonio about two-fifths 
ot the population were German in 1850, according to Kapp, 
while von Behr, writing in 1847, says that Galveston was 
more than half German ; Comal and Gillespie Counties were 
exclusively German, and Medina and Austin Counties con- 
tained more German than American farmers. Nearly all 
local industries and work shops in the above mentioned 
cities were conducted by Germans, as were most of the re- 
tail stores and establishments. They were all small concerns 
compared with the stores of today, but sufficient for the 
wants and needs of that time, and most of the proprietors 
earned a comfortable living. From them grew many of the 
k.rgest industrial establishments of Texas, and the founda- 
tion of the wealth of many of our rich merchants and pro- 



130 German Element in Texas 

fcssional men was laid 60 and 70 years ago in an insignifi- 
cant shop, behind which the family lived and toiled in a few 
small rooms. 

Tlie relations between the Germians and the Americans in 
Texas have not always been as friendly as they are now, or 
have been for the last 40 years. Before the Civil War there 
were many sources of disagreements between the two na- 
tionalities. Most of the Anglo-Americans in Texas between 
1830- 1850 had come from Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee 
or other slave States, where there were very few Germans, 
and the reputation and character of many Americans from 
the Northern States who had sought new homes in Texas, 
were not always above reproach, a great number of them 
being bold and unscrupulous adventurers, while most of 
the German immigrants were plain, unsophisticated peo- 
ple, striving by hard and conscientious labor to establish 
new homes for tb.emselves and their faniilies. The Ameri- 
can planter and slaveholder firmly believed that manual 
labor was degrading and looked with derision, mingled 
with contempt, on the German farmer, plowing his fields 
and harvesting his crops. This mistaken conception of race 
superiority was the direct result of the American rule over 
slaves and continued for som.e time after the Civil War 
and after slavery was legally abolished. It is only during 
the last decades that the sound conviction is growing apace 
in the minds of all the people that honest labor of any kind 
should be properly respected, and we are now beginning 
to realize that we had been victims of the foolish fallacy 
that manual training is well enough only for those who can 
not do anything else. 

The thousands of German farmers who were continuously 
and persistently toiling and improving their lands and crops, 
naturally became formidible competitors of slave labor on 
the American plantations and increased the lack of har- 
mony between these two different elements of population. 
The planters became jealous of the German immigrants. 



German Element in Texas 131 

while tlie latter felt that slavery lessened their own value 
and favored the abolition of slavery from moral reasons. 

The German farmers by cultivating their land more ju- 
diciously and using intelligent economy, often raised more 
cotton to an acre than the American planters, and the so- 
called "free cotton" often brought from i to 2 cents more 
per pound in the markets than that picked by slaves in the 
same locality. Thus the Germans not only disproved the 
general belief that cotton could be grown only by slave la- 
bor, but also proved that they could grow a superior grade 
of the staple. All this tended to strain the relations be- 
tween the Americans and Germans in Texas, and as the 
latter generally kept closely together in their settlements, 
they mingled but little with the Americans, except for busi- 
ness purposes, and the opportunity for becoming mutually 
better acquainted was but scant. Olmstead in his "Journey 
Through Texas in the Saddle," says : 'The manners and 
ideals of the Texans and the Germans are hopelessly di- 
vergent. They make little acquaintance, observing one an- 
other, partly with unfeigned curiosity, often tempered with 
mutual contempt." 

Now everything has changed. The Civil War, followed 
by the abolition of slavery, revolutionized the agricultural 
system in Texas, the large plantations either being changed 
into cattle ranches or divided up into small farms, that were 
either sold or rented to new settlers, and the aristocratic 
planter gradually disappeared. The Germans were assimi- 
lated to American views and ways, and the Americans be- 
gan to recognize the sterling worth of German immigration. 
Both nationalities now live and work in perfect harmony 
iti friendly competition for the development of Texas and 
the continued glory of our great and powerful country. 



,,Uebt iDunberbave .ftraft 
,,^sn (Vreube, foroie and) im ©d)merj 
,,(*r JSonn' unb Iroft uevfd)attt. 






©egviinbet ben 6, Cftobev 1883. Crganifievt, ben 23, ^Kai 1884. 
^^nforpovicvt ben 3, ^su(i 1890. 

Cijartermitglieber. 

(*^a§. (S. .!per)ne,~tiaul rie^fd)olb, (5avl ©ut)m, (i{)a§. 3(. Dumler, 
3oe Dleffel, Otto -preu|ner, 3(. ^meiftev, (Su§. aSilfening, (5f)a§. 
JRet^er, Sub. Sd^avd, 3(. (^. ?];. ©tveit, Slnton i^ntnner, SBilliam 
Jiummer. 

JScamtc, 1912 = 13. 

9(. .peUberg ^^vdfibent. 

28. 3. ilotil^aufi iMje ^sra[tbent. 

2(. 58vunner @d)atjmeifter. 

i5. tsuengev ©efretar. 

"^crtoaUungsirat. 

S. @. ^SJlMer, i>. SBolfer, ^^3. ^Bottler, SSm. 5-ud)g, ^. 3)tt5fd)olb, 
3(. .^viegel, "^oe ?.Tf. .(Seifer, .'nan§ Oftvorc, >b. 3Ubred)t. 

(5()0vmeiftev: (^. (5. I'ieb. 

Mn0rr (Sntaa mit tjpUpm Kkng, gilt hputHrl^pr i^ittf . 
I»pwt«rl?pm ^ang! 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 

OF 

Texas German Singers^ League 

(STAATS SAENGERBUND) 
FROM 1853-1913 



BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GERMAN STATE SAEN- 
GERBUND OF TEXAS. 



For the fourth time in the interesting history of the Ger- 
man State Saengerbund of Texas the City of Houston will 
be host to the German singing societies that will gathe'* 
here on May 5th for the celebration of the Twenty-ninth 
biennial State-Saengerfest. The city is ready to bid a 
hearty welcome to the German singers and greet them joy- 
fully with : — 

"Seid uns willkommen Alle ! Gegruesst mit Herz und Hand, 
Die Ihr des deutschen Liedes Euch freut in diesem Land!" 

The Texas metropolis will entertain the singers royally. 
Like the Greeks of classical antiquity the Germans are the 
music-loving nation par excellence of the present time, and 
the love of song is particularly an innate gift with most of 
them. The hundreds of folksongs (Volkslieder), the origin 
of which in many cases cannot be traced, are sung with 
equal fervor by young and old in the sumptuous palaces of 
the nobility, as in the humblest cottages of the poor. While 
the German forests in spring and summer are filled with 
the joyous warblings of thousands of small singing birds, 
the highways and fields almost everywhere resound from 
the merrv songs of a lonely wanderer, or the busy toilers 
of the soil, filling the air with mirth and glee. 

The first singing societies (T.iedertafeln) in Germany were 
organized in the beginning of the last century by F. Zelier 
in Berlin and C. Zoellner in Frankfort-on-the-Main, and 
their compositions are still among the most favorite songs 
of the German singers everywhere. Their example worked 
like an inspiration ; it was quickly followed by many teach- 
ers of music in North Germany and the beautiful cities 
along the blessed banks of the Rhine, Neckar and Main 



136 German Element in Texas 

Rivers, and in a few years singing clubs were established 
in almost every city, large or small, in Western Germany. 
These singing societies soon became the social centers of 
the citizens of these towns and fostered a closer union and 
friendship among them. The first German National Saen- 
gerfest was celebrated with the greatest enthusiasm in 
Frankfort-on-the-Main, on July 28, 29 and 30th, 1838, and 
760 singers from various cities between Manheim and Cob- 
lenz actively participated in the festival to offer homage 
at the altar of the fair muse Euterpe. The present member- 
ship of all singing societies in Germany is approximately 
500,000 and more than 40,000 singers took part in the last 
National Saengerfest that was celebrated last summer in 
Nuernberg, Bavaria. 

This inherent musical sentiment follows the German 
wherever he goes, and it may be of some interest to note 
that the first piano on Texas soil was brought here by 
Robert Kleberg, Sr., who emigrated to Texas with his 
family in 1834. This instrument unfortunately became a 
prey of the flames that destroyed Harrisburg in the spring 
of 1836, when the hordes of Santa Anna applied the torch 
to that thriving little town, and many a year passed before 
the soft strains of a piano were again heard in Texas. 

The German immigrants that came to Texas in great 
numbers from 184.5 to 1850 brought along an invisible 
passenger, "Das deutsche Lied" (the German Song). It 
accompanied them westward on their dreary march across 
the broad prairies, where many of the prospective settlers 
fell by the wayside from exposure and exhaustion, and es- 
tablished itself with the sturdy pioneers on the beautiful 
banks of the Comal and Piedernales, to cheer them in their 
daily toil and brighten their evenings at the fireside. Soon 
some congenial spirits met occasionally under the shady 
trees on the banks of the silvery Comal at New Braunfels, 
for the purpose of rehearsing and singing the cherished 
songs of the Fatherland. On March 2nd, 1850, on the an- 



German Element in Texas 137 

niversary of the birth of the RepubHc of Texas, the singing 
society (Germania), the first singing club in Texas, was 
organized at New Braunfels. Shortly afterwards German 
singing clubs were started at Sisterdale, Austin, San An- 
tonio and La Grange, and in the summer of 1853 the "Ger- 
mania" sent out invitations to these societies to meet at New 
Braunfels on October 15 for the purpose of celebrating a 
German Saengerfest. 

The First German Saengerfest in Texas. 

"Lasst hell erklingen das deutsche Lied 
Dass weit es schalle durch Wald und Ried." 

The singing societies of San Antonio, Austin and Sister- 
dale responded to the invitation, that was gladly accepted, 
and the people of New Braunfels at once began the erection 
of the first "Saengerhalle" in Texas, on the shady banks 
of the Gaudeloupe. Although the building was but a rough 
and primitive structure and the decorations of the simplest, 
the lack of fineries and modern comfort was amply re- 
placed by the true and unfeigned enthusiasm of all partici- 
pants, and very likely no subsequent Saengerfest in Texas 
was celebrated m.ore joyfully and with greater zeal and 
earnestness than this first festival in New Braunfels. The 
little burg was all astir, bustle and expectation and young 
and old vied with each other in preparing a royal welcome 
to the expected guests. When the day for the opening of 
the Saengerfest had arrived, it looked as if a superior force 
would prevent the assembling of the German singers at the 
young settlement. Diluvial rains that had poured down for 
more than a week, had changed all the creeks and rivers in 
West Texas into raging torrents, while the roads were al- 
most impassable. But all these obstacles could not deter 
the singing societies from fulfilling their promise given 
to the New Braunfels Club. The singing societies from 
San Antonio succeeded only with great difficulty in crossing 
the Salado and Cibolo Creeks, and the Austin singers for 
a time doubted whether thev should risk the crossing: of the 



138 German Element in Terras 

swollen Blanco River, or not. After long deliberation the 
attempt was finally made at the risk of their lives, and when 
they reached the opposite banks they found that nearly all 
of their effects, including their music books, had been car- 
ried away by the waters. All they had saved besides their 
lives was their banner. 

All the singers from San Antonio, Austin and Sisterdale, 
however, arrived at the proper time, October 15, in New 
Braunfels, amid the merry cheers of the whole populace, 
and notwithstanding the fact that the way from the town to 
the "Saengerhalle" could be made only by wagon, or on 
horseback, through mire, mud and water, almost everybody 
in New Braunfels attended the concert of the singing so- 
cieties on the evening of October i6th. Unbounded en- 
thusiasm prevailed, the Saengerfest became a true Volks- 
fest and the general arrangement committee, consisting of 
Messrs. G. Eisenlohr, F. Moureau, H. Seele, J- Eggeling 
and F. Mueller saw with great satisfaction that their un- 
tiring efforts were crowned with success. 

The following singers participated in the concert that be- 
gan at six o'clock in the evening, viz. : — 

From San Antonio: Fritz Voelkerath. T. KoDzen. C. 
Lane, W. Richter, J. Schmitt. A. Senz, A. Eule. G. Schleich- 
er, F. Enderle. A. Moye, G. Freiselben, Duerler. Lemelson, 
C. Lege, Fibers, Alex. Strator, J. Conrad, Th. Conrad, Fr. 
Oswald, J. Riotte and Dr. Adolf Douai, leader. 

Sisterdale : Ottomar von Behr. L. von Donop, W. Rho- 
dius, and A. Siemering, leader. 

Austin : G. Petmesky, C. Zuschla^-, two brothers Press- 
ler, H. Brognaar, Rindel, Aug. Neumann. Wilhelm Sclniltz, 
Oppelt, Domsky, Peter Klebar, P. Schmidt, Wm. Kuhfuss, 
and W. Schmitz ; leader unknown. 

To these forty singers must be added the "Genr.ania" of 
New Braunfels, with twenty-four voices, under the leader- 
ship of H. Guenther. 



German Element in Texas 139 

The following- interesting program was ably rendered 
amid the enthusiastic applause of the whole audience : — 

PART I. 

1. Vaterlandslied, A. Marschner, Masschorus. 

2. Liebeschmerz, Volksong, Austin Society. 

3. Minnelied, J. Otto, Germania Singing Society. 

4. Der Tanz, Walz by Otto, San Antonio Society. 

5. Das treue deutsche Herz, by J. Otto, Germania. 

6. Trinklied, by C. Kreutzer, Sisterdale Quartette. 

PART 2. 

1. An die Freundschaft, by A. Neithardt, Masschorus, 

2. Lebewohl, by F. Silcher, Austin Society. 

3. Song of the Spiritis Above the Waters, by Goethe, Sis- 

terdale Quartette. 

4. Schlosserlied, by J. Otto, Germania Singing Society. 

5. Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland, by Gotta, San An- 

tonio Singing Society. 

6. Jaegers Abschied, by Mendelsohn, Masschorus. 
After the concert an informal dance was quickly ar- 
ranged, and although the rain came through the leaky roof 
in several places, not only the young, but also the older 
people enjoyed the sport until the early dawn of morning. 

During the intermission between the first and second 
part of the concert, Mr. Hermann Seele, the Mayor of New 
Braunfels, and the principal of the New Braunfels Acade- 
my, delivered the oration, an eloquent paneg\Tic of the 
German song, and after him Dr. Douay and A. Simering 
spoke feelingly on the universal liberty of mankind and of 
the unlimited prospects of the pioneer settlers in the young 
State of Texas. 

After the concert a brief meeting was held, in which a 
resolution was offered and unanimously passed that an- 
other, second Saengerfest, should be celebrated next year 
in San Antonio. 



140 German Element in Teocas 

This second Saengerfest took place on the 14, 15 and i6th 
of May, 1854, and the singing societies of Austin, La 
Grange, New Braunfels, Sisterdale and San Antonio par- 
ticipated in the festivities. It would go far beyond the 
space alloted to this sketch to publish all the programs of 
the different Saengerfests, and it must suffice to state that 
the songs rendered at the second and third Saengerfests 
did not materially differ in style of composition and diffi- 
culty of production from those of the first Saengerfest and 
were all sung a capella. 

On March 16, 1854, the last day of the second Saenger- 
fest, according to prearranged plans, a German convention 
in "Vauxhall Garden" on Alamo Street was held, the pro- 
gram of which had been suggested by the political econo- 
mists and idealists of Sisterdale, where Ottomar von Behr. 
A. Siemering and Dr. Kapp were strenuously agitating the 
principles of social and political freedom and equality, and 
earnestly advocating the general brotherhood of mankind. 
Through the eloquence of these men, ably assisted by Dr. 
Adolf Douay and F. Tielepape, resolutions were adopted 
demanding the abolishing of capital punishment, the for- 
bidding of speculation in land values, an income and inheri- 
tance tax, and declaring slavery a monstrous social wrong 
that should be abolished in conformity with the Constitu- 
tion of the United States which declared in emphatic terms 
that "all men are born free." This resolution also urged 
non-interference of the United States in the slavery ques- 
tion, but after a State or Territory had abolished slavery. 
or wished to do so, it should be sustained by the Federal 
Government. 

All these resolutions of the German convention are con- 
vincing proof of the radical progressiveness of the German 
pioneers in Texas, a progressiveness that was far in ad- 
vance of the times, but somewhat Utopian in character. 
While the participants in the German convention gave an 
unmistakable proof of the courage of their convictions, their 



German Element in Texas 141 

public declaration in favor of abolishing slavery in a slave 
state must be styled an imprudent temerity, as it placed them 
in direct opposition to the majority of the Americans in 
Texas, and added materially to increase a feeling- of dis- 
trust, that the American planters and slave holders held 
against the German farmers and the Germans generally. 

At this second Saengerfest the first steps were also taken 
for the forming of a German State Singers' League, and a 
constitution and by-laws, drawn up by a special commit- 
tee, were recommended to the different societies for adop- 
tion. 

The third Saengerfest took place at New Braunfels on 
March 28 and 29. 1855. Of the thirteen invited singing 
societies the following seven participated : New Braunfels. 
Indianola, Columbus, La Grange, Austin, Sisterdale and 
San Antonio. Austin was selected as the meeting place for 
the fourth Saengerfest in 1856, but the Austin singing so- 
ciety finally declined the honor, and the singers of San An- 
tonio, La Grange and Austin met again at New Braunfels 
and celebrated the fourth Saengerfest on October 12 and 
13th, as guests of the Liedertafel. the second German sing- 
ing society of New Braunfels. The older society, *'Ger- 
mania," refused to participate in the festivities, and had 
even announced that on account of the depressed financial 
condition no Saengerfest would be held. But the Lieder- 
tafel was undaunted, and under the energetic management 
of its leader, H. Guenther, prepared for the fourth Saen- 
gerfest, that proved a grand success. The program for the 
concert contained for the first time a song with musical 
accompaniment. This was the prize composition '^Eine Nacht 
auf dem Meere'' (A Night on the Sea), by A. Tschirch. 
a difficult chorus work with solos, duetts and orchestra. 
This latter was replaced by a piano. Mr. Guenther held the 
baton and Mr. Stademann played the difficult accompani- 
ment with considerable skill. H. Thielepape of San An- 
tonio. W. Schulz of New Braunfels and A. Oppel of Aus- 



142 German Element in Texas 

tin, sang the solos and duets of the beautiful composition, 
which was received with deafening applause by the enthusi- 
astic audience. 

In the fifth Saengerfest, which was again held at New 
Braunfels, only four singing societies, of San Antonio, Aus- 
tin, and two of New Braunfels, participated. The singing 
club of Sisterdale had ceased to exist. A delegation from 
Fredericksburg invited the singers to meet next year at 
their city. This invitation was gladly accepted and the sixth 
Saengerfest was celebrated on May 29, 30 and 31, 1859, 
at Fredericksburg, at that time on the border of civilization, 
with the following seven societies participating, viz. : New 
Braunfels "Germania" and "Liedertafel," Fredericksburg, 
Piedernales, Austin, San Antonio and Grape Creek. 

At the seventh Saengerfest at New Braunfels, on March 
26, 27, 28 and 29, i860, the first chorus of mixed voices, 
the "Concordia" of New Braunfels, rendered two charm- 
ing songs at the official concert, and many more during 
the different social gatherings of the Fest. The next Saen- 
gerfest had been scheduled for Austin, but early in 1861 
the threatening clouds, that had been hanging over the 
United States for several years, had bursted, the unfortu- 
nate and destructive war between the States had begun, 
and song and music were replaced for years by tears and 
sorrow. 

Several years after the close of the war passed by, before 
the German societies of West Texas again joined in the 
celebration of a Saengerfest. On August 22 and 23, 1869, 
the singers of the two San Antonio clubs, the ''Beethoven 
Maennerchor" and the "Liedertafel," the Austin Society 
and a club from Boerne, met with the singing societies of 
New Braunfels at the latter place for the purpose of re- 
viving the German State Singers' League. This was accom- 
plished, a new constitution was prepared and San Antonio 
chosen for the next, the eighth Saengerfest. This was cele- 
brated on the 9, 10 and nth of September, 1870, more than 



German Element in TeaYis 143 

ten years after the seventh Saengerfest had been held at 
New Braunfels. With this Saengerfest an enthusiastic cele- 
bration of the great victories of the German armies in 
France was connected, and the echo of the stirring times 
that created a German nation and the rejuvenated German 
empire reverberated in the hearts of the thousands of par- 
ticipants. The ravens no longer flew around Kyffhaeuser 
mountain, the ban was broken, the barriers between the 
many principalities were lowered, the marked distinctions 
between North and South Germany were effaced, and every 
German felt justly proud of being a son of the Fatherland, 
of a United Germany. This Saengerfest was by far the 
greatest that so far had been held. The following cities and 
towns were represented: New Braunfels (Maennerchor 
and Liedertafel), Doerne, Comfort, Yorktown, La Grange, 
and San Antonio. Hopes had been entertained that Hous- 
ton and Galveston would be represented by singing clubs, 
or at least by some delegates of such clubs, but no word or 
representative came from either of these cities, and for 
several years more participation in the Saengerfests was 
confined to societies west of the Colorado River. At the 
business meeting (Tagsatzung) a resolution was adopted 
to celebrate the Saengerfests henceforth only biennially, and 
consequently the ninth Saengerfest was held at New Braun- 
fels on May ii, 12 and 13. 1872. in which the following 
singing societies actively participated, viz. : New Braunfels, 
Hortontown. Smithsons \'alley, San Antonio. Austin, Com- 
fort, Boerne, and the two singing clubs of New Braunfels. 
In order to perpetuate the love of song in the growing gen- 
eration and interest them in the forming of new singing 
societies or joining the existing clubs, the "Tagsatzung" 
unanimously adopted a resolution that recommended the 
establishing of singing-schools for children, and for many 
years such schools were conducted in many cities and towns 
of South Texas. Not only children of German birth, but 
also of American parentage were received and instructed 



144 German Element in Texas 

in the beautiful art of singing, and the missionary work 
done by the pupils of these schools ought not to be under- 
estimated. It awakened and fostered among the Americans 
of Texas the love of music and song, the active agents of 
a refined life, and the founding of most American singing 
societies in Texas, as elsewhere, must primarily be attribu- 
ted to the wholesome influence of these unpretentious sing- 
ing schools, organized at the suggestion of the German 
Texas Singers' League. 

The tenth Saengerfest was again celebrated in San An- 
tonio in May, 1874, with societies from New Braunfels, 
Boerne, Comfort, Austin, and Fredericksburg, participat- 
ing. At this meeting Messrs. A. Groos, H. Bosshard and 
A. Siemering were appointed as an executive committee to 
act in the interest of the State Singers' League and prepare 
a new constitution to be presented at the next Saengerfest. 
New Braunfels was designated as the meeting place for this 
Saengerfest, as neither Austin nor any other city repre- 
sented at the Tagsatzung were willing to be sponsor and 
host for the next celebration. The attendance of active sing- 
ers participating in the concerts had constantly grown, and 
the boarding and entertaining of nearly two hundred par- 
ticipants for three days, with the additional expense for the 
proper arrangements and other incidentals, amounted to 
too great a sum, that smaller places would attempt to invite 
the Saengerfest within their walls. Even New Braunfels, 
the birthplace of the German Texas Saengerfests, could not 
raise funds enough for the next Fest and was unable to 
meet its obligation in 1876, and the executive committee 
therefore had to find another Verein, willing to undertake 
the arrangements for the next Saengerfest. The Beethoven- 
Maennerchor of San Antonio readily accepted the responsi- 
bility, and under its auspices the eleventh Saengerfest was 
celebrated at the Alamo City on the 12th, 13th and 14th of 
September, 1877. 



German Element in Teccas 145 

Eleventh Saengerfest at San Antonio, 1877. 
This Saengerfest exceeded its predecessors in many ways. 
"Fest Praesident'' F. Groos, with his chief assistants, A. 
Siemering^, C. Mueller. B. Wolfram, and musical director, 
E. Zawadil, were equal to their arduous task, and all ar- 
rangements were perfect. A new Saengerhall, with a ca- 
pacity of 1500 seats, had been erected in Central Garden, 
and an orchestra of 34 pieces for string music had been 
organized by the indefatigable efforts of Mr. Zawadil, and 
proved the "piece de resistance" of the whole Saengerfest. 
The following thirteen singing societies were represented, 
viz. : Beethoven Maennerchor, Teutonia and Mendelsohn 
Clubs of mixed voices, of San Antonio, Echo of Smithsons 
Valley, Austin Saengerrunde, New Braunfels Maennerchor, 
Boerne Gesang \^erein, Liedertafel of Comfort, the singing 
societies of Yorktown, La Grange, Brenham, and the Gal- 
veston Saengerbund. This was the first Saengerfest in 
which societies from east of the Colorado River partici- 
pated. The concert, on the second day of the celebration, 
was a great success from beginning to end, and musical 
director Zawadil, at the close of it, received an enthusiastic 
but well deserved ovation for his tireless efforts and his 
marked ability as an orchestra and chorus leader. The 
string orchestra opened the concert with the overture from 
Balfe's melodious opera, "The Bohemian Girl." and later 
played the overtures from "Martha" by Flotow, and "Ne- 
buchadnezzar" by Verdi. It also played the discreet accom- 
paniment to the Chorus-song. "Meeresstille" by Fischer, 
rendered with great precision by the Beethoven-Maenner- 
chor. and to parts of Rossini's great composition "Stabat 
Mater," sung by the Mendelsohn mixed chorus, with Miss 
Lacoste. Mrs. Karber and Messrs. C. Mueller and A. Kar- 
ber as soloists. Wben the sound of the last note of this 
classical work had ebbed away, there was a grave-like silence 
for a few seconds, but then an applause broke forth from 
all parts of the great hall that was filled to overflow, as 



14G German Element in Terras 

never had been heard at any previous Saengerfest. The in- 
troduction of an orchestra and the singing of chorus songs 
with orchestra accompaniment had proved so successful that 
the orchestra from now on became an integral and indis- 
pensable part of all succeeding Saengerfests, greatly in- 
creasing the budget of these affairs, as every city vied to 
outdo the .other by furnishing a larger and better orchestra. 
Soon local orchestras and local talent alone did not suffice 
and soloists as well as whole orchestras were engaged from 
Cincinnati, St. Louis and Chicago, to add splendor to the 
concerts and tax heavily the progressive and public-spirited 
citizens of the cities in which the Saengerfests were cele- 
brated. It was considered impossible to have a Saengerfest 
without a grand orchestra and some soloists -of national 
fame, and thus the character of the Saengerfests was en- 
tirely changed. It is true that the Saengerfests of the last 
fifteen years have become more metropolitan in style and 
quality, but it must nevertheless be regretted that now the 
orchestra and the soloists are the chief attractions of the 
concerts, instead of the singers. The Saengerfests are un- 
questionably tending more and more to become great music 
festivals, with th.e singing of chorus songs as a necessary 
adjunct. 

At the Tagsatzung the new constitution prepared by A. 
Groos. F. Bosshard and A. Siemering was adopted v/ith 
a few changes, and remained in force until 1906, when it 
was again changed to conform with the changed conditions. 
During the festivities a number of delegates from the 
Turnvereins of San Antonio, Houston. New Braunfels, 
Fredericksburg, West Mill Creek and Ouihi, met and or- 
ganized the "Texas State Turnerbund," adopted a consti- 
tution and appointed Houston as "Vorort," with the general 
offices and next meeting place, and consequently the first 
State Turnfest was celebrated in Houston in the spring of 
1878, in which all associated societies of the State partici- 
pated. 



German Klein cut in Te.ras 147 

Austin was selected as the place for the twelfth Saenger- 
fest. and there, in April, 1879, the silver jubilee of the Ger- 
man Texan State's Singers' League was celebrated with 
appropriate festivities. A virulent yellow fever epidemic 
ravaging Texas in 1878. had prevented the celebration in 
that year, as originally proposed, but in order to remember 
the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Texas Saengerbund in 
an appropriate manner at the proper time, the Beethnven 
Maennerchor of San Antonio and the Singing Society from 
Comfort met with the singers of New Braunfels on Octo- 
ber I2th. 1878, at the birthplace of the Saengerbund and 
celebrated a joyous jubilee meeting on the banks of the sil- 
very Comal. 

At the Saengerfest at Austin, the societies of New Braun- 
fels and Comfort were represented for the last time. They 
did not remain members of the League any longer, but, to- 
gether with other singing societies of West Texas, formed 
their own association, the "Gebirgs Saengerbund,'' which 
is still flourishing and celebratinsf its annual Saengerfests 
in the picturesque cities of West Texas with great enthusi- 
asm, original simplicity and real German "Gemuetlichkeit" 
(good fellowship). 

The Jubilee Saengerfest at Austin, 1879. 

Elaborate preparations had been made by the Germans 
of the Capital City for the proper and dis^nified celebration 
of the twelfth Saengerfest, the jubilee of the twenty-fifth 
anniversary of the State Saengerbund. The Central Com- 
mittee under the able leadership of Dr. Weisselberg. fest 
president, and \\'alter Tips, musical director, ablv assisted 
by Messrs. Ed Schuetze, Samostz. Brueggerhoff. Frisch- 
meier. Stakemann and others, had perfected all arranr:e- 
ments with great skill, finding ready assistance from all 
merchants and the general public of Austin, and when, on 
the morning of the i6th of April the singers held their tri- 
umnhal entrv into the citv, under the booming of cannon. 



148 German Element in Texas 

Congress Avenue, from the Colorado River to the Capitol, 
was gaily and profusely decorated with flags and bunting, 
while two immense arches of honor had been erected, one 
at the foot of Congress Avenue, the other at the Opera 
House, where the official concert was held. As a special 
attraction, the orchestra of the National Theatre of New 
Orleans, a well known musical organization from St. Louis, 
had been engaged. The following singing societies partici- 
pated in the festivities : Beethoven Maennerchor, San An- 
tonio ; Maennerchor, New Braunfels ; Frohsinn, Dallas ; 
Germania, Brenham ; Salamander, Galveston ; Saenger- 
runde and "Gemischter Chor," Austin, and two delegates 
each from Houston, Comfort and LaGrange. This was the 
first participation of the societies from Dallas and Brenham 
at the Saengerfests, while the presence of two delegates 
from the Houston Maennerchor indicated that tlie German 
singers of the Magnolia City would participate at the next 
Saengerfest. The singers from Dallas, Brenham and Gal- 
veston had arrived by a special train in the morning, while 
the societies of San Antonio and New Braunfels had come 
overland in sixteen wagons, being received by the entire 
festival committee, three miles south of the city, in gala 
coaches and accompanied to the city. At the Colorado River 
bridge the other singing societies had assembled, and after 
*^he arrival of the contingent from New Braunfels and San 
Antonio, the line of march was quickly formed, the ban- 
ners unfolded, and the festival march (Festmarsch) to the 
Opera House begun, cheered all the way by the thousands 
that lined both sides of Congress Avenue. In the spacious, 
profusely decorated hall of the Opera House, tables, laden 
with substantial delicacies, invited the singers to a bounte- 
ous repast, and after hunger and thirst had been allayed. 
Dr. Weisselberg welcomed the singing societies in some 
well chosen words, to which Mr. H. Seele, of New Braun- 
fels, the nestor of the Saengerbund, responded. Then Col- 
onel De Gress, Mavor of Austin, bade the singers a heartv 



German Element in Tecvas 149 

welcome in the name of the city, handing the freedom and 
the keys of Austin to them during the Saengerfest. The 
official oratory closed with some humorous remarks by 
Mr. Samostz, chairman of the lodging committee, and after 
the singing of a few impromptu songs, and the faultless 
rendering of some classical compositions by the orchestra, 
the joyous assembly adjourned at midnight for a well 
earned rest after a pleasant but strenuous first day of the 
jubilee festivities. 

The morning of the second day was spent in a general 
rehearsal of the chorus songs, and in the afternoon an ex- 
cursion was made to Mount Bonnell, where some pleasant 
hours were enjoyed. The great concert began precisely at 
eight o'clock, before a brilliant audience that filled every 
available seat in the Opera House. The following interest- 
ing program was executed with considerable skill : — 

PART I. 

Overture Egmont, by Beethoven. Orchestra. 

Lob des Gesanges. by L. Maurer, Mass-Chorus. 

Zauber der Liebe, by J. Herbert, Salamander, Galveston. 

Das Deutsche Lied, by P. E. Schneider, Mass-Chorus and 

Orchestra. 
Das Einsame Roeslein, by Hermes, Germania, Brenham. 
Phantassie. Die Zigeunerin, by Balfe, Orchestra. 

PART 2. 
Siegesfeier. by Rheinlaender, Mass-Chorus. 
Chor aus Ernani. by \'erdi. Mixed Chorus, Austin. 
Potpouri, Aida. by Verdi. Orchestra. 
Wie hab ich sie geliebt. by Moehring, Frohsinn, Dallas. 
Schaeferlied, by Eckert, Mass-Chorus. 

PART 3. 
Leichte Cavallerie, by Suppe, Orchestra. 
Muttersprache, by C. Kuntze. Beethoven, San .Antonio. 
Bundeslied, bv F. Lachner, Mass-Chorus and Orchestra. 



150 German Element in Terras 

Song-, by New Brannfels ^[annerchor. 
Fackeltanz, No. 3. by Meyerbeer. Orchestra. 

The orchestra numbers and the mass-choruses, the latter 
under the firm and effective leadership of Mr. Walter Tips, 
found especial favor with the attentive and critical audience 
and were loudly and enthusiastically applauded. A social 
g^athering^ of the singers at Frischm.eires' Hall after the con- 
cert pleasantly concluded the second day of the Saengerfest. 

On the third and last day the delegates of the societies 
belonging to the State organization assembled in the fore- 
noon at ten o'clock at Scholz's Garden for the biennial 
"Tagsatzung." As officers for the next two years Messrs. 
Walter Tips, president, W. Brueggerhoff, treasurer, and A. 
Stakeman, secretary, were unanimously elected, and an in- 
vitation from Galveston to celebrate the next Saengerfest, 
the thirteenth, on the sun-kissed shores of the Gulf of 
Mexico, was received and adopted amid the rousing cheers 
of all delegates present. 

For the afternoon a picnic at Pressler's Garden had been 
arranged, which was attended by thousands who were car- 
ried there by special excursion trains of the I. & G. N. rail- 
road. When Hon. A. W. Terrell, of Austin, mounted the 
speaker's stand at about four o'clock, the large grounds 
were filled by an immense multitude of merry and joyous 
people. In an half hour's speech Mr. Terrell spoke inter- 
estingly on music and song, laying particular stress on the 
debt of gratitude the American people owed to Germany 
for the introduction of these refining and ennobling arts that 
brought good cheer and sunshine even into the humblest 
home. He then paid a glowing tribute to the Saengerfest 
and German social gatherings generally, which were al- 
ways so delightful, harmonious and orderly, that they could 
well form an example and pattern for American entertain- 
ments. 

After Mr. Terrell had finished amid loud and appreci- 



German Klement in Texas 151 

ative applause. Dr. Hadra, of San Antonio, delivered t'ne 
German oration. It is doubtful wlietlier an equally schol ir- 
ly German speech has ever been delivered from a Texas 
rostrum as that of Dr. Hadra at the Saenii^erfest at Austin 
in 1879. In a masterful manner anil diction on the differ- 
ent problems ag^itatins: the minds of the people, he depicted 
the lonsrin.c: desire in the hearts of many men for intellectual 
advancement and the materialistic tendencies of the present 
ac:e. As a softening- accent in the turmoil of daily life and 
strife, he eloquently lauded the music, and among the beau- 
tiful art of song-, the folklore songs, the "Volksgesang," 
the real music of the people, of the masses, that captivates 
mind and soul with its sweet melodies and easy strains. Dr. 
Hadra concluded his interesting and highily instructive 
speech with the wish that at the next Saengerfest some 
American singing societv might actively participate as a 
competitor for the laurels of Apollo, stating that this would 
be considered the proudest conquest of German pioneer- 
work in Texas. 

A brilliant ball at the Opera House was a fitting finale 
of the jul)!lee Saengerfest. that had been of unpar<'dleled 
success from beginning to end. 

Thirteenth Saengerfest at Galveston, 1881. 

On May i8th, 1881, the Texas Saengerburid asse;r.hled 
at the fair Oleander City for the celebration of the tliir- 
teenth State Saengerfest. The people of Galveston had 
made extended preparation for this occasion. An in-incnse 
pavilion with a seating capacity of 5800 had been built at 
the beach, and there the two concerts of th.e Saengerfest 
were held, while the great assembly that filled the spacious 
hall, was fanned by the cooling breezes from the Gulf. 
Houston was represented for the first time in the h.istory 
of the Saengerfests by the Houston Maennerchor. .i triple 
cpiartette under the direction of Prof. G. Duvernoy, and tlie 
followin-^; voices: First tenors, O. F. Kuehn. A. Toccius, 



152 German Element in Texas 

A. Baldry ; Second tenors, Ernst F. Schmidt, Jacob Binz, 
E. Raphael ; First bassos, Louis Harde, E. Blaf fer, Louis 
Peine ; Second bassos, John Reichman, Gus Tips, Jacob 
Voorsaenger. 

The program was the most elaborate of any Saengerfest, 
containing not only the innovation of tzvo great concerts, 
but being extended over five days instead of three, as had 
been customary heretofore. 

First Day : Reception of singers at 8 P. ]\L at the Union 
Depot. Torchlight procession to Artillerie Hall and ad- 
dresses of welcome by the mayor and chairman of the re- 
ception committee. 

Second Day : General rehearsal in the morning and 
afternoon, and first concert at night at 8 o'clock. 

Third Day : Rehearsals in the morning, oyster roast 
and fish chowder on the beach at noon and afternoon ; sec- 
ond grand concert at night, followed by a grand ball at the 
Garten Verein. 

Fourth Day: Procession (Festmarsch) of all singing so- 
cieties, fire department and military companies. In the 
afternoon, picnic and concert by orchestra in Schmidt's gar- 
den, and summernight's festival at night. 

Fifth Day: Excursion over the waters of the bay of 
Galveston and the Gulf of Mexico. Biennial session of 
delegates of the Texas Saengerbund. Reception and prori»e- 
nade concert in the afternoon at the Garden Verein. At 
night grand Saenger-Commers (batiquet). This extensive 
program was carried out without the least hitch or im- 
pediment. The singers enjoyed the fest immensely and all 
returned home after having spent five days niost pleasantly 
and agreeablv. unanimous in their unlimited praise of the 
liospltality of the inhabitants of the Island City. 

Th.e fourteenth Saengerfest v/as held in May, 1883. in 
Dallas. This was the first time the singers of South Texas 
had crone to North Texas to nrocbim the reign of the merry 



German Element in Te.vas 153 

muses of song and music, and great and most favorable was 
the impression made upon the American citizens of Dallas, 
many of whom had never before heard a mass-chorus of 
more than two hundred trained voices. At the Tagsatzung 
the delegates unanimously passed a resolution that the 
Saengerfests of the Texas Saengerbund should henceforth 
be held alternately in Houston. San Antonio, Austin. Gal- 
veston and Dallas, and thus the next fest was celebrated 
in Houston. 

This rotation has been kept up regularly since then, only 
the time having been changed twice to conform with local 
conditions. 

The Fifteenth Saengerfest at Houston, 1885. 

Shortly after the Dallas Saengerfest the Houston Sing- 
ing Society "Maennerchor" ceased to exist, and instead two 
clubs, the "Liederkranz." Prof. G. Duvernoy, leader, and 
•ihe "Saengerbund." Prof. C. E. Zeuss, leader, were formed. 
These two societies, although being active rivals in differ- 
ent matters, worked harmoniously for the success of the 
coming Saengerfest. the musical arrangement of which was 
placed in the trusted hands of Professor Duvernoy, while 
Messrs. Zeuss and Juenger effectively superintended the 
preparations for changing the large public hall in the 
market house into an artistically decorated "Saengerhalle." 
The other necessary arrangements lay in the hands of Mr. 
John Reichman. President. G. Tips, I. Japhet, L. Harde, 
L. Kosse, C. Schwarz. E. Raphael. A. Moser and E. Rlaffer. 

When the opening day of the Saengerfest arrived every- 
thing was spick an span. The city was gaily decorated along 
all the principal streets. Main and Preston, Congress and 
Travis Streets, however, wearing the most gorgeous ap- 
parel. The public spirited merchants along these thorough- 
fares seemed determined to outdo each other in promoting 
tlie spirit of the occasion, and h.ad draped their house fronts 
in the ravest attire. 



154 German Element in Terras 

The following singing societies took part in this Saenger- 
fest : Salamander and Mendelsohn Societies from Galves- 
ton, director, H. Wilkens ; Beethoven and Mendelsohn So- 
cieties of San Antonio, director, C. Beck ; Maennerchor 
from Austin, director. Walter Tips ; Frohsinn from Dallas, 
director, Chas. IManner ; vocal section of Giddings Tiirn- 
verein, director. A. Krueger ; Liederkranz of Victoria, di- 
rector, H. E. Pursch. and the two Houston Singing So- 
cieties, Liederkranz, director G. Duvernoy, and Saenger- 
bund, director. G. C. Zeuss. A chorus of mixed voices was 
also organized that sang in two of the concerts. 

To the official musical program a matinee concert was 
added by the music committee and this proved so success- 
ful that henceforth all Saengerfests offered three concerts 
to the music loving people of Texas. This addition of a 
third concert was necessary, as the Saengerbund constantly 
received new additions to its membership, having now 
twenty-two singing societies enrolled on its roster. The tliree 
concerts of the fifteenth wSaengerfest were given before 
crowded houses on April 28th and 29th. followed on Thurs- 
day, April 30th, by a Volksfest at Volksfest Park, and on 
Friday, May ist, by a Military Day, with a promenade con- 
cert and competing infantry drills, in which companies from 
Galveston, Brenham and Austin participated. This amuse- 
ment and entertainment was provided free of charge for 
everybody and the Saengerfest proved a gratifying success 
throughout. Prof. Duvernoy the "Festdirieent" was pre- 
sented by the Saengerfest directorate with a fine gold v/atch 
in proper recognition of his valuable and efficient services, 
v/hile Messrs. Zeuss and Ji^ienger also received official rec- 
ognition for their artistic work in decorating Municioal 
Hall. 

The sixteenth Saengerfest was held at San Antonio in 
April, 1887, the seventeenth at Austin in 1889, and the 
eiehteenth at Galveston in April, 1891. In 1890 the Gal- 
veston Salamander sino-ingf societv and the delegations of 



German Element in Teccas 155 

singing clubs of Houston and San Antonio had gone to 
New Orleans to participate in the Saengerfest of the North 
American Saengerbund, that was celebrated at the Crescent 
Citv, which visit was returned in 1891 by the New Orleans 
Quartette Club, under the leadership of Professor Hanno 
Deiler. The Texas Saengerbund then thought a union of 
the Louisiana singing societies with the Texas organization 
probable, but the project did not progress beyond the above 
mentioned two visits. The New Orleans Society, an old 
and honored member of the North American Saengerbund, 
did not wish to sever its connection with this organization, 
and thus the idea of forming a greater Southern German 
Singers' League was dropped. This is not to be deplored. 
The Texas State organization of German singers is strong 
enough in itself and would lose much of its originality if 
joined with singing societies of other states. 

The nineteenth Saengerfest was held in May, 1893, at 
Dallas, and the twentieth on May 8th, 9th and loth, 1894, 
at Houston. 

The Twentieth Saengerfest at Houston, 1894. 

The arrangements for the twentieth Saengerfest were 
intrusted to a general committee made up of delegates of 
all German lodges and societies and two representatives of 
the city council, Messrs. Jules Ilirsch and John Lyons. Cap- 
tain F. A. Reichardt was elected President, Moritz Tiling, 
General Secretary, and M. Kattmann, Treasurer, while to 
Mr. A. Moser was entrusted the arduous task of raising the 
necessary funds to defray the expenses of the festival. Nine- 
teen German and three American societies participated in 
the concerts. These latter were the Musical Union, a mixed 
chorus of Austin, the Quartette Society of Galveston, and 
the Houston Quartette Club. Professor Oscar Felden, di- 
rector of the Houston Saengerbund, was elected musical 
director of the Saengerfest and Frank Herb, director of 
the orchestra. As soloists. Miss Clara Landsbercr and Mrs. 



156 German Element in Texas 

Bella McLeod-Smith of Houston, Miss Marguerite Fischer 
of Brenham, Mr. G. P. Warner of Austin, Mr. C. H. Muel- 
ler of San Antonio and Mr. W. H. Kirkland of Houston 
divided applause and honors among themselves. On Thurs- 
day, the third day of the Saengerfest, a \^olksfest, in Volks- 
fest Park, was arranged, preceded by a grand parade of 
civic and military organizations through the principal 
streets of the city. 

At several of the preceding Saengerfests soloists and 
orchestras from Northern cities were engaged, but the di- 
rectorate of the twentieth Saengerfest had decided, and very 
properly decided, that in a Texas Saengerfest, Texas mu- 
sicians and Texas soloists should be engaged exclusively, 
and consequently only Texas musicians played in the or- 
chestra and home talent sang the solos and sang them well 
and with artistic finish. Times and conditions of course 
have changed since then and the arrangements for a Saen- 
gerfest now require a much more complicated musical ap- 
paratus than twenty-one years ago. With the requirements 
of greater orchestras and eminent soloists, the budget has 
materially increased, and while the total expenses for the 
Saengerfest in 1894 were less than two tliousand dollars, 
the estimated cost of this year's Saengerfest is eight thou- 
sand five hundred dollars. 

The twenty-first Saengerfest was held in April, 1896, 
in San Antonio, the twenty-second at Galveston in May, 
1898, the twenty-third at Austin in May, 1900, where Mr. 
G. F. Sauter was elected chairman of the executive commit- 
tee (Bundespraesident), and the next in Houston in May, 
1902. 

The Twenty-fourth Saengerfest at Houston, 1902. 

The year 1902 did not begin very auspiciously for a festi- 
val, the arrangements of which required the procuring of 
a fund of several thousand dollars, which had to be furn- 
ished b)^ a comparative small number of public spirited and 



German Element in Texas 157 

broad minded merchants and citizens. The entire country 
had just passed throut^h a long and severe financial and in- 
dustrial crisis that had deeply affected all branches of trade 
and commerce. 

Money was very scarce and the duty of the finance com- 
mittee was far from being a pleasant one. But the Saenger- 
fest had to be celebrated and the necessary fund to be 
raised. The directors of the Saengerfest were fortunate 
enough to interest Alessrs. H. B. Rice, B. F. Bonner and 
Captain F. A. Reichardt in the matter and these gentlemen 
proved to be a very able and efficient finance committee. 
The officers of the Fest were Dr. K. N. Miller, President, 
\Vm. A. Reichardt, First Vice-President, Dr. H. A. Engel- 
hardt. Second Vice-President, F. Wallrab, Recording Sec- 
retary, Wm. Freckmann, Corresponding Secretary, and 
Maurice Kattmann, Treasurer. These officers were ably 
assisted by Messrs. J. H. Lilienthal, \'. Juenger, Ernst Bau- 
mann, L. E. Christiansen, and Wm. Olschewske, who acted 
as chairmen of the different sub-committees, while Mr. C. 
C. Lieb was elected director of the mass-choruses (Fest- 
dirigent) and Professor E. Lindenberg director of the or- 
chestra. Only two concerts were given at the Auditorium, 
the matinee concert having been dispensed with, and as an 
innovation several of the mass-choruses were directed by 
the leaders (Ehrendirigenten) of different participating 
singing societies. The soloists of the Saengerfest were Miss 
Carrie Bridewell, contralto, from the Metropolitan Opera 
House, New York, and Aliss Irma Lieb, pianist, who played 
with marked ability the difficult "Capriccio Brilliante" Op. 
22, bv Mendelsohn, with string quintette accompaniment. 

The three singing societies of San Antonio, the Beethov- 
en Maennerchor, Deutscher Maennerchor and Liederkranz, 
and the Frohsinn from Dallas were the first societies to ar- 
rive, coming on Sunday evening, and being followed on 
Monday morning by the singing clubs from Austin, Tay- 
lor, Brenham. La Grange, Bellville and Galveston. They 



158 German Element in Teccas 

were all met at the different railroad depots by members 
of the reception committee with brass bands and escorted 
to Turner Hall, where on Monday night the Saengerfest 
was officially opened by a banquet with following concert, 
during which the different singing societies sang their 
choicest solo songs. 

The next four Saengerfests were held in Dallas (1904), 
San Antonio (1906), Galveston (1908), Austin (1911), 

Twenty-ninth Saengerfest at Houston, 1913. 

This year twenty-one singing societies will meet in 
Houston for the celebration of the twenty-ninth Saenger- 
fest, at which the diamond jubilee of the State Saengerbund 
will be fittingly observed. As this year marks the centen- 
nial of the great uprising of the German nation against Na- 
poleon's rule and the beginning of the wars of liberation, 
it would not seem to be amiss if the memory of these stir- 
ring times would be also observed in some manner by the 
coming Saengerfest. 

The Texas German Saengerbund can look back vvith 
pride on its long career of sixty years, and its missionary 
work in the field of music and song is universally acknowl- 
edged. It will add constantly new recruits to its ranks until 
it is represented in every city and town throughout the wide 
domains of our imperial State. 

"Herbei zum Kampf des Liedes ! Herbei Ihr, Jung und Alt. 

Wem immer ward g;egeben des Sanges Allgcwalt. 

Gar eine kraft'ge Waffe. allsiegend ist das Lied, 

Es kampft fur Recht und Wahrheit, im Streite nimnier mud.' " 

As executive officers ( Bundesbeamte) for the period be- 
tween the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth Saengerfest, 
Messrs. A. Hellberg, president, Paul Dietzschold, treasurer, 
and \'inecnt Juenger, secretary, had been elected at Austin. 
For the purpose of keeping up a constant interest in the 
coming Saengerfest, the executive committee published a 
quarterly magazine (Saenger-Zeitung), which was ably 



German Element in Te.vas 159 

edited by Mr. C. C. Lieb, each number containins^ much 
vahiable and interesting information for singers and music- 
loving people generally. 

The musical attractions for the twenty-ninth Saengerfest 
will not onlv eciual, but in some respects surpass, any of the 
previous celebrations, as the following list will demonstrate : 

The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, 55 men, under the 
leadership of Max Zach. 

Mme. Marie Rappold, prima donna soprano of the Metro- 
politan Opera Company of New York. 

Carl Schlegel. baritone, of Berlin and New York. 

Twenty-one German male singing societies, choruses of 
various Texas cities. 

Combined chorus of the Choral Club, the Treble Clef 
Club and the Quartette Club of Houston, under the joint 
leadership of PIu T. PJuffmaster and J»lien Paul Blitz. 

Three hundred Houston school children in German 
chorus and 5000 of them in "America" (matinee only). 

The selections of the mass-choruses made by Mr. C. C. 
Lieb are almost exclusively songs by American composers, 
two of whom are citizens of Texas — Dr. Hans Harthan of 
Austin. Texas, and Prof. Frank Renard of Sherman. Texas. 
The others are Carl Fique. Richard X'ossley, Max INTueh.- 
krt. Dr. Elsenheimer. Carl Kapp, P. Engelskirchen, E. 
Kempermann, J. Schmidt, A. Buechse. Dr. Felix Jaeger, 
Theodore Hemberger. J. Mendelsohn, E. Reyl, Otto Wick, 
Louis Koemmenich, David Melamet and Arthur Claassen. 
The latter will also lead the chorus songs of the 21 German 
societies participating in the concerts, the Festhehorde 
having been fortunate to engage his services for this pur- 
pose. Arthur Claassen of Brooklyn. X. Y.. is a musician 
of international fame and unparalleled reputation as a di- 
rector of singing societies. Thus the musical success of 
the coming celebration is a foregone conclusion. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 
OF 

The Houston Turnverein 

FROM 1854-1913 



HISTORY OF HOUSTON TURNVEREIN 
FROM 1854-1913. 



In the field of education America owes the kindergarten 
and manual training to Germany, in social life the singing 
societies and turner organizations, the progenitors of our 
athletic clubs. 

The former have brightened and enlivened the glum- 
ness of the schoolroom, the latter have infused bright cheer, 
congeniality and good fellowship into men, while also large- 
ly contributing to a healthy development of the body. 

Among all the clubs and social organizations in our great 
State, the Houston Turnverein is the only society with the 
proud distinction of having existed uninteruptedly for near- 
ly three score of years. In Houston the Turnverein has al- 
ways occupied a prominent position and leading part in tlie 
social life of the Magnolia City. Having been organized 
on the lofty principles of patriotism, physical and mental 
development and good fellowship, the Houston Turnverein 
b; having unalterably adhered to these fundamental rules. 
has steadily marched forward and upward until today, and 
can look back with pride on a continuous career of untarn- 
ished honor and well deserved success. 

The Houston Turnverein was organized on Sunday. Jan- 
uary 14, 1854. In the forenoon of that day there assembled 
i!) the house of Mr. Peter Gabel on Preston Avenue, be- 
tween San Jacinto and Caroline Streets, ten young Ger- 
mans, true sons of their native country, yet loyal to the 
principles of American freedom, for the purpose of forming 
a society, the main object of which should be the physical 
and mental training of its members, as well as the advance- 
ment of social and literary entertainments for their friends. 

The orifrinal articles of agreement between the members 



164 German Element in Texas 

organizing the Verein with their signatures to the same, 
are as follows : — 

"We, the undersigned, met this day for the purpose of 
organizing a Turnverein for the practice of brotherly love 
and the promotion of physical and mental exercises and 
studies. With this view before us, we have founded the 
Houston Turnverein under the solemn promise to labor 
with never failing energy and persistency for its welfare 
and prosperity. 

(Signed) "W. F. Heitmann, 

''Robert Voigt, 
"F. Reimann, 
"E. B. H. Schneider, 
"E. Marschall, 
"A. Sabbath, 
"Louis Pless, 
"E. Schuerer, 
"J. Thorade, 
"L. Schreihagen. 
"Houston, Texas, January 14, 1854." 
As the general platform of the Turnverein, the following 
was adopted, viz. : — 

"This society indorses those ideas and principles that 
originate from a natural and consequently only correct view 
of life, and therefore, oppose any usurpation of rights and 
privileges that are not in accord with true liberal princi- 
ples." 

Thus the birth of the Houston Turnverein was effected 
and announced to the public. All of its founders are now 
gone to the far beyond, the last one to leave us having been 
the old, but still young. Captain E. B. H. Schneider, who 
died in 1903, and who, although 73 years of age, stood to 
his post as physical instructor of the Turnverein up to a 
few months prior to his death. In recognition of his long 
and efficient services, the Turnverein honored the deceased 



German Element in Texas 165 

by an official funeral from the hall, where his body lay in 
state for one day. 

The newly organized Turnverein at once took steps to 
become a factor in the public life of the city. Its members 
formed at once the first volunteer fire company of the city, 
and served as such at many fires from 1854 to i860. The 
first evidence of their services was at a fire on the 20th of 
May, 1854, when the Bracken House burned down. In this 
connection the following note explains itself : Houston, 
May 21, 1854. — To the Houston Turners: I send you two 
dozen bottles of ale and porter, which you will please accept 
as a small token of my appreciation of your services at the 
fire, and to the city. (Signed) N. Fuller, Mayor. 

The membership grew rapidly, being over 50 in 1856, at 
the end of which year the Turnverein bought its first piece 
of property, a lot on Caroline Street, between Prairie and 
Texas Avenues, parts of lots 7 and 8, with a small house on 
it as an assembly hall. Over half a century has passed since 
then, but if the shades of the founders of the Turnverein 
now look down upon the site, where they first installed the 
happiest club life in Houston, they must rejoice at the grati- 
fying result of their labors and smile benignly on those who 
now reap so richly of their early sow'ing. 

In 1859 members of the Turnverein organized a military 
company, known as the Turner Rifles, bought their own uni- 
forms and equipment, and by diligent drill soon became 
quite efficient soldiers. On several occasions the services 
of the Turner Rifles were required by the city, and among 
other duties they guarded for three days the city jail, where 
in March, i860, the dangerous desperado and murderer, 
Kuykendall, was confined. On the night after the Turners 
had been relieved by a citizens' guard, Kuykendall broke 
jail and disappeared. 

More Property Purchased. 

In i860 the Turnverein bought the two corner lots on 



166 German Element in Texas 

Prairie Avenue and Caroline Streets, adjoining their first 
bought property, and there built the first Turner Hall, 
which was dedicated to its use on February 5, 1861, at the 
seventh anniversary celebration. Dark clouds had at that 
time risen and threateningly gathered on the political hori- 
zon of the United States, and the country was on the verge 
of the gigantic and disastrous struggle between the North 
and South, over the principles of State sovereignty and slav- 
ery, destined to tear asunder the whole country for four 
years. If each side had thoroughly understood the other, 
probably no war would have occurred. But, not understand- 
ing each other, "one side." as Lincoln once said, "would 
make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other 
would accept war rather than let it perish." 

Thus the dedication of the new Turner Hall was cele- 
brated under gloomy forebodings, and the tenseness of the 
political situation was marked by the draping of the United 
States flag, which formed part of the decorations, in mourn- 
ing. In this dedicatory address, Mr. Otto Haun referring 
to the existing political conditions, and the patriotism of the 
Turners, spoke the following interesting words : 

"Whatever the near future may bring, whenever Texas 
is going to call her citizens to arms for the protection of the 
most sacred goods of the people, then the Turners will be 
among the first to answer that call, and true to their motto, 
*Bahn frei' (clear track), will boldly break into the ranks 
of the enemy." 

The Turners as Confederate Soldiers. 

A few months later, Texas had joined the secession, the 
call for volunteers was issued, and the Turnverein raised 
the first volunteer company in Houston, with E. B. H. 
Schneider as captain, and most of the officers and men were 
members of this society. This company was stationed in 
Galveston and was the first under fire on Texas soil at old 
South Battery on Galveston Island. When the steamer 



German Element in TeaYis 167 

Bayou City captured the Harriet Lane in Galveston Harbor, 
Captain Schneider was dangerously wounded by an acci- 
dental explosion of a gun, losing permanently the eyesight 
of his left eye. The old company flag and an unexploded 
shell from a Federal man-of-war, are still kept as honored 
war relics in Turner Hall. In 1862 when Whaul's Texas 
Legion was organized, the majority of the remaining Turn- 
ers joined it, and were either elected officers or non-com- 
missioned officers in the following three companies, viz. : 
0. Nathusius. infantry company, Robert Yoigt's company, 
and H. Wickland's infantry company. These three com- 
panies at once joined the Texas Legion, marched to the 
scene of war and remained in the field until after the sur- 
render of Vicksburg, on July 7, 1863, when they with the 
other 29,000 prisoners of war were paroled and permitted 
to return to Texas, the best way they could. They had re- 
ceived their baptism of fire in the battle of Sharpsburg on 
September 17. 1862, in which Turner Frank Kosse was 
killed and several others wounded. On January 14, 1863, 
the members of the Turnverein belonging to these three 
companies were lying in camp near Grenada, Miss., after 
General Van Horn's retreat behind the Tallahachie River. 
All agreed that the anniversary of the Verein should be 
celebrated, and consequently a general meeting w.is called 
in a tent, speeches full of vigor and patriotism delivered, 
and the ninth anniversary of the Turnverein was there and 
then celebrated as only Turners and Confederate soldiers 
in the field could do. Present on this memorable occasion 
were : O. Nathusius, R. Voigt, L. Wickland, L. Tipen- 
dick, H. Behrmann, F. A. Michels. Louis Harde, P. Schwan- 
der. C. Warnecke, C. Drescher, J. B. Conrad. G. Loeffler, 
E. Schurcr, Louis Kosse and others. None of the partici- 
j)ants of this celebration are any more among us, the last 
three who departed to the great unknown beyond being F. 
A. Michels, who died in 1904; Louis Harde, whose death 
occurred on April 21. 1908. and who was lionored by an 



168 German Element in Tearis 

official funeral from the hall, and Louis Kosse, who an- 
swered the call of the grim reaper on August 2, 1910. 

Revival of Social Life at Turner Hall After the War. 

After the Turner companies had returned to Texas and 
disbanded, Turner Hall, sadly neglected during the long ab- 
sence of most of the members of the Verein, was again 
made cozy and comfortable by willing hands, and the pres- 
ence of the lively spirits that had created the organization, 
soon brought back its prominence as a social factor. 

In 1866 the Turnverein organized a German-English 
school, with two competent and able teachers, and an at- 
tendance that spoke well for the future of the institution, 
but in the yellow fever epidemic, which raged in Houston 
in 1867, the principal of the school, Professor Krittner, 
died, and his assistant fled from the State. The directors 
of the Turnverein did not succeed in engaging new and 
competent teachers for the reopening of the school in the 
succeeding winter, and thus these unfortunate happenings 
destroyed the well-meant and otherwise probably successful 
undertaking, with comparatively great pecuniary loss to the 
Turnverein. 

Under the auspices of the Turnverein, the first Volksfest 
in Texas was celebrated in 1869 with pronounced success. 
Mr. Ernest Schmidt was president of the celebration, in 
which many other German societies from other Texas towns 
participated. From that time until 1897 the German Volks- 
fest was annually celebrated in Houston, being for years 
the most prominent public festival in which the population 
of the entire city, rich and poor, high and humble, equally 
joined. 

On the i8th of March, T870, the Turners unfortunately 
lost their hall by fire, but immediately set to work to collect 
funds for the erection of a new and larger hall, the comer- 
stone of which was laid with appropriate ceremonies in 
March, 1871, and which is the hall now used as a ballroom. 



German Element in Teccas 169 

The new hall was provided with a large stage, and many 
an entertaining comedy was played on it by its members, 
their wives and daughters, who possessed histrionic talent. 
Messrs. R. Grunewald, E. Leonhardt, J. Bankowski and E. 
Blaffer were in succession- stage directors, and even the 
rendition of light operas was not too high for their ambi- 
tion. Before crowded houses and enthusiastic audiences 
most creditable performances of "Preciosa" and "Tann- 
haeuser" (parody) were given. A singing society was also 
fcrmed, which, under the able directorship of Professor G. 
Duvernoy for many years contributed to the enjoyment and 
delight of the Turnverein and its friends. This singing 
society, the "Mannerchor, ' was the first singing society 
from Houston, participating in a State Saengerfest. in 1885. 

On February 24, 1875. some of the younger members of 
the Turnverein seceded, and together with the sons of some 
of the older members, started the "Jahn Turnverein," of 
which Captain Schneider became physical instructor, while 
Theodore Miller instructed the Turners of the old \"erein, 
but on August 4, 1877, this offspring of the parental root 
rejoined its older brother, which occasion was duly cele- 
brated with an appropriate concert, summer nights festival 
and ball. In the same year the "Texanische Turnerbund" 
was organized at San Antonio, the Houston Turnverein re- 
ceiving the honor of holding the general offices for the first 
year. Consequently, the first "Bundes Turnfest" was cele- 
brated in Houston in the spring of 1878. a great festival, 
in which all the associated societies throughout the State, 
from Galveston, Brenham, Austin. San Antonio. New 
Braunfels and Fredericksburg participated. 

In June 1877 the Turnverein sustained a great loss in the 
death of its former president, Mr. Gustave Loeffler, who 
had presided over the destinies of the Verein for eighteen 
years and who had been the leading spirit in all German en- 
terprises of Houston for years. For several years Loeffler 
had also been commissioner of immigration for the State 



170 German Element in Terras 

of Texas, and a member of the Twelfth Legislature. His 
death occurred at San Antonio, whither he had gone in 
hopes to regain his shattered health, on June 4th; the body 
was brought to Houston. He was accorded an official burial 
and at the grave, Mr. Louis Harde held the eulogy, ending 
with the following impressive words : "He was a true 
friend to his friends, a brother to the Germans of Texas, a 
brave champion of their rights, and a combatant of truth. 
His motto was 'Bahn frei fiir Wahrheit Licht und Auf- 
klarung' (clear track for truth, enlightening and progress). 
Let us keep this motto forever sacred." 

Charter Secured. 

After the new hall had been finished in 1871 the Verein 
decided to become an incorporated society, and on Decem- 
ber I of that year the Governor signed the charter of the 
Houston Turnverein, granted by the Legislature of the 
State. As incorporators were named : G. Loeffler, F. W. 
Heitmann, L Veith, L. Harde. L. Kosse, R. H. Cabanis, 
T. D. Usener, G. A. Meyer, E. L. Leonhardt, P. R. Westen 
and F. A. Michels. R. H. Cabanis is now th.e only survivor 
of these incorporators. 

As the only surviving charter incorporator of the Turn- 
verein and one of its earlier members R. H. Cabanis is an 
interesting link between the Turnverein's early struggles 
for existence, and its present flourishing condition, that has 
kept apace with the marvelous growth of Houston. Mr. 
Cabanis was l-yorn in Silberberg. Silesia, on January 27, 
1833, moving to Texas with his parents in November, 1846. 
He joined the Turnverein in January, 1858, and has been 
a member for 55 years, being in point of age and mem.ber- 
ship the nestor of the Turnverein, closely followed by Mr. 
Theodore Miller, who became a member in 1861. 

After the incorporation the history of the Turnverein 
has been one of continued triumphs and success. Political 
or religious connections were never allowed to intrude upon 



German Element in Texas 171 

the freedom of pleasure and social mingling that was the 
life of the Verein, and while a great many Americans be- 
came members, the management of the business affairs of 
the Turnverein rests entirely in the hands of the active 
German members. 

In the year 1903 the membership of the Turnverein had 
increased so much that the club rooms and the hall built 
in 1871 had become entirely too small. In order to meet the 
pressing demand for larger and more convenient accommo- 
dations, the board of directors after long and careful dis- 
cussions and deliberations, submitted to the members plans 
for an additional structure to the old hall, and a remodeling 
01 the grounds by removing the bowling alleys to the Prai- 
rie Avenue side, at the same time enlarging it. These plans 
were adopted by a general meeting and the building at a 
cost of $15,000 erected, thus giving the Turnverein the 
largest and best equipped hall in the State of Texas. 

During the last 10 years the ranks of the old members 
have been greatly thinned through the grim reaper. Death, 
and the Turners had to mourn the loss of many of the most 
energetic and devoted members of the Verein. Among 
those who left us may be prominently mentioned, August 
Moser, who died in October. 1898, and who as the long 
time president was the life and soul of the Turnverein ; then 
Ferdinand Hacker, Louis Meyer, Henry Hartmann and 
Charles Herrmann, the latter two at the time of their death 
occupying the office of vice president ; Fred Schweikart, 
Maurice Kattmann. who for 14 years was the faithful and 
trusted secretary of the Turnverein, and the eight oldest 
members — John Zimmermann, Captain E. B. H. Schneider, 
Frank Michels. Dr. Erich Schmidt, Louis Harde, Louis 
Kosse, J- Daniclson, Sr., and Jacob Binz. who departed 
from us only a few weeks ago. 

The Golden Jubilee. 
The golden jubilee of the Turnverein was celebrated in 



172 German Elernent in Texas 

an elaborate manner on Thursday January 14. 1904, in a 
manner befitting the imxportance of the event. The arrange- 
ment committee of the celebration, of which L. E. Christian- 
sen was chairman, had done everything in the scope of dec- 
orations and arrangements to make it a memorable festivity. 
Many hundreds of bright and expectant faces greeted Dr. 
Max Urvv'itz, then president, when he ascended the plat- 
form in the large hall to address the Turners at the morning 
exercises, and at the banquet following, in which the city 
and county officials participated, many happy toasts con- 
gratulatory of the Turnverein were spoken and enthusias- 
tically cheered by the hundreds of participants. 

Moritz Tiling had written a festival poem and published 
a booklet in German and English, containing a brief history 
of the interesting history of the Turnverein, that was hand- 
ed to all guests present as a fitting memorial of this im- 
portant landmark in the life of the Verein. The grand ball 
on the evening of January 14, that concluded the jubilee 
festivities, was a gala affair in the full meaning of the term. 
The large hall in its dazzling decorations of gold and pur- 
ple, looked gorgeous in the bright light of hundreds of elec- 
tric globes, and was filled to its capacity with a joyous mass 
of dancers until the early hours of dawn. 

Death of Dr. Urwitz. 

On October 2, 1905, the Turnverein sustained a severe 
loss through the sudden death of its honored and beloved 
president. Dr. Max Urwitz. who died of apoplexy. In due 
respect to the character and sterling qualities of the de- 
ceased his remains were carried to Turner Hall, where they 
lay in state and where at 8 p. m. elaborate public funeral 
services were held. Dr. Henry Barnstein opened the cere- 
monies with the Jewish service. He was followed by Mr. 
M. Tiling, who in behalf of the Turnverein, delivered a 
eulogy in the German language, taking occasion to pay high 
tribute to the manly virtues represented in Dr. Urwitz's 



German Element in Texas 173 

character. Messrs. H. Fischer and A. B. Langermann, two 
ihtimate friends of the departed, spoke feelingly in English, 
while during intervals the Saengerbund and the Elks' Quar- 
tette rendered beautiful and impressive mourning songs. 

Then, as mentioned above, Louis Harde died on April 
21, 1908, and Louis Kosse on August 2, 1910. Of the old 
members of the sixties of the last century, only Messrs. 
R. H. Cabanis and Theodore Miller survive, and are still 
members of the Turnverein. 

From the beginning the Turnverein has adhered to the 
sound policy of acquiring as much property for the Verein 
as was consistent with strict business principles, and in 
course of time became the owner of the entire block on 
which in 1855 the Turners bought their first lot. This policy 
has proved highly beneficial. The phenomenal increase of 
property values in Houston's business district during the 
last five years, and the great demand for such property re- 
sulted in many offers made to the Turnverein for the sale 
of all, or part of the Verein's property. The directors per- 
sistently refused all offers, until finally the offer of the 
Taylor-Guthrie Company for half of the block, fronting on 
Texas Avenue, from Caroline to Austin Streets, was ac- 
cepted, and on June 26. 191 1, these six lots were sold for the 
sum of $168,000. the Verein retaining the other half of the 
block fronting on Prairie Avenue. By this advantageous 
sale the Turnverein could not only pay the different mort- 
gages on its property, but had enough funds left for a new 
and substantial hall and club building. A building commit- 
tee, consisting of Messrs. L. E. Christiansen, chairman; A. 
Hellberg. S. Taliaferro. L. F. Schweikart and L. F. Dor- 
m.ant was appointed, that finally adopted the plans of San- 
guinet, Staats and Barnes for a new hall, which is now in 
course of construction at the corner of Austin Street and 
Prairie Avenue. The building, of pressed brick and stone, 
is four stories high, costing one hundred thousand dollars, 
while the interior equipment will necessitate a further sum 



174 Gennan Element in Tearis 

of twenty thousand dollars. The Houston Turnverein will 
then possess the finest and best equipped clubrooms in the 
entire South. 

The lower floor, which is known as the ground floor, 
same beinj^ practically at grade level, will have in same the 
bowling alleys, also the Turners' school, the kitchen which 
will serve the club room floor, shower baths, lockers, toilet 
rooms, etc., for both Turners and bowlers. 

The floor directly above is intended to be used for club 
room purposes, officers' rooms, etc. There will be on this 
floor the club room, assembly room, buffet, ladies' parlors, 
library, also main entrance and lobbies, elevator and two 
stairv/ays leading up to the ball room and banquet room 
floor. 

The upper floor, which in reality consists of two floors, 
will comprise the main ball room, the stage, dressing rooms, 
etc., and will have in addition to this a gallery, or mezza- 
nine floor, which can be used as a gallery in the event that 
the main hall is used for theatrical or convention purposes. 
This gallery can also be arranged to be used strictly for 
banquet purposes, if so desired. 

The stage, as designed, has a proscenium opening which 
is as large as the average opera house throughout the coun- 
try, a:Kl the stage itself will seat between 300 and 400 peo- 
ple thereon, making it very desirable to use for such pur- 
poses as conventions, meetings, etc., where a number of 
sneakers are expected to be seated on the platform, or for 
massed choral effect such as the Saengerfest. 

The ball room proper is 70 by 90 feet, without any posts 
in same, making it the largest ball room in the State with 
an absolutely clear space. 

Present Membership of the Turnverein. 

Thus the affairs of the Turnverein are in a highly satis- 
factory and flourishing condition. The present membership 
consists of 275 active and 253 passive members, with the 



Gcnnan Klcmcnt in Tcvas 175 

following; 32 honorary members, who for 23 years and more 
have uninterruptedly been members of the V'erein, on the 
honor Hst : Henry Albrecht, S. S. Ashe, James A. Baker. 
Jr., James Breeding, George R. Bringhurst, Anton Brunner, 
R. H. Cabanis, WiUiam Cameron, W. A. Childress, II. F. 
Fisher, C. J. Grunewald. F. A. Heitmann, M. Henninger, 
C. G. Heyne, C. II. Hoenke, V. Juenger. Henry Kasche, 
R. W. Knox, James Masterson, Theodore E. Miller, C. G. 
Pillot, H. B. Rice, C. C. Rugers, W. W. Schmidt, H. O. 
Schneider, J. \V. Schneider, L. B. N. Schneider, L. F. 
Schweikart, Moritz Tiling. Gus H. Tips. H. Waddell, J. 
A. Ziegler. 

The management of the Turnverein is at present con- 
fided to the following board of officers and directors: W. 
\V. Schmidt, president; C. H. Kuhlmann, vice president; 
F. P. Kalb. treasurer : L. F. Schweikart, secretary ; who 
with Messrs. Henry Albrecht, J. C. Goldstein, Hermann 
Schneider, Gus Dreyling, Henry Kriechhamer, L. E. Chris- 
tiansen and L. B. Schulte form the board of directors. 

We are prevented from looking into and from knowing 
the future, or even lifting the veil that shrouds coming 
events from the human eye, but so much may be predicted 
without any degree of presumption that there is still a long 
time of social usefulness in store for the Turnverein. and 
that it will continue to flourish as long as its members ad- 
here strictly to the lofty principles on which the Turnverein 
was founded, and as long as the management of its business 
affairs remain in trusty and capable German hands as 
heretofore. 



GERMAN DAY CELEBRATIONS IN HOUSTON. 
For Twenty-one Years, 1889-1910. 



Firmly established, wherever the German idiom sounds 
within the wide borders of our great and beautiful country, 
is German Day. The result of arduous labors of Professor 
O. Seidensticker, and the late G. Kellner, editor of the Phil- 
adelphia Democrat, the first German Day was celebrated in 
the city of William Penn on October 6, 1883. From there 
the idea spread rapidly over the whole United States, and 
today, from the populous shores of the Hudson River to 
the romantic Golden Gate, and from the dense forests of 
Wisconsin to the sunny prairies of Texas, German Day is 
the cherished inheritance of all true and loyal German- 
American citizens. 

German Day sliall, primarily, commemorate the landing 
of the first German Colony on American soil on October 6, 
1683, but it shall also remind us of the everlasting, faithful 
work and the achievements of the German element in the 
United States in art, literature, education and in all indus- 
trial branches. It may safely and without any exaggeration 
be asserted that the Germans have taken a leading part in 
the civilization and development of our country, and pre- 
eminently so in the great State of Texas, and the celebra- 
tion of German Day is therefore the proper expression of 
the just pride and satisfaction the present race feels over 
works accomplished by our fathers. Hon. Carl Schurz, in 
a speech delivered at the St. Louis Exposition, said : "Ger- 
man Day in the United States is the celebration of the 
friendship of the German and the American people. The 
German-Americans are the hyphen between Germany and 
America, presenting the living demonstration of the fact 
that a large population may be transplanted from one to 



178 German Element in Texas 

another country, and may be devoted to the new fatherland 
for Hfe and death., and vet preserve a reverent love for the 
old." 

In Houston the first German Day celebration took place 
ixi the year 1889. At a called mass meeting held in Turner 
Hall the subject of celebrating this day was discussed and 
it was finally resolved to celebrate German Day on the 6th 
of October of that year. Mr. August Moser was elected 
president of the celebration, while Dr. Max Urwitz was ap- 
pointed orator of the day. Both have since departed to the 
great Unknown Beyond, but their memory is still fresh and 
revered by the large circle of their many true and devoted 
friends. The entire German population of Houston and Har- 
ris County took part in the festivities, which were held in 
Turner Hall, and thus the first celebration of German Day 
in Houston was ushered in and proved an immense success. 

In the years 1890 and 1891, the Turnverein arranged the 
celebration of German Day, and on both occasions Mr. A. 
Moser delivered the German address, the text of which was 
published by the Houston Post in full, in the German lan- 
guage. 

The year 1892 witnessed a German Day celebration of 
extraordinary magnificence. This year being the four hun- 
dredth anniversary of the discovery of our Continent, it was 
deemed proper that the festivities should be arranged on 
bioad and exhaustive plans. The German-American Citi- 
zens' Alliance took up the matter and after a great deal of 
deliberation, decided in favor of a two days celebration. On 
October 20. the festivities began with a vocal and instru- 
mental concert in the opera house, and the production of his- 
torical and allegorical tableaux, in which more than a hun- 
dred ladies and gentlemen participated. On the next day, 
the first great German Day parade moved through the 
streets of the city of Houston. The parade consisted of four 
divisions under the command of Grand Marshal Charles 
Hirzel, and twentv marshals. Eiglit floats artistically built 



German Element in Tdvas 179 

and decorated by the Messrs. L. Hartmann, \'. Juenger and 
K. Stock, called for the constant applause and unbiased ad- 
nuration of the thousands of spectators who lined the streets 
through which the pageant passed. Besides the German as- 
sociations of Houston all the gun clubs of Harris County 
and the Uniformed Rank of the Knights of Pythias took 
part in this parade. For the afternoon a great V'olksfest had 
been arranged in Volksfest park and thousands listened to 
the orations of Captain J. C. Hutcheson, George B. Grig-gs, 
and Moritz Tiling. A dance in Volksfest park and a ball in 
Turner Hall concluded this memorable celebration. 

The German Days of 1893, 1894 and 1895 were held al- 
ternately at Turner Hall and at Volksfest park under the 
auspices of the Houston Turnverein and Houston Saenger- 
bund. The orators at these occasions were the Hon. W. P. 
Hamblen, Hon. S. H. Brashear, Hon. H. B. Rice, Alexander 
Earttlingck. A. B. Langermann and Moritz Tiling. 

The next prominent German Day celebration took place 
in the year 1896. The executive officers for this celebra- 
tion were Moritz Tiling, President: John Steinhagen, \'ice- 
President; A. Brunner, Treasurer; X. Juenger. Secretary: 
Ben A. Riesner, Chairman of Finance Committee, and Cap- 
tain F. A. Reichardt, Grand Marshal. The gorgeous street 
pageant, which ushered in the festivities in the morning, 
surpassed in brilliancy anything the people of Houston had 
witnessed in this line before. 

The daily press in commenting on the parade, said the 
following : — 

"To President Tiling is certainly due much credit for the 
brilliant success of yesterday's event. No such parade has 
before traversed the strets of Houston, and such parades 
have deteriorated so much of late that the magnificence of 
yesterday's turnout was a subject of universally favorable 
comment. The parade rivalled anything of the kind ever 
given in Houston. It was a handsome pageant and the ideas 
expressed in the decorations, in the arrangements anrl in 



180 German Element in Tea:as 

the distributions of characters were excellent and excited 
the admiration of ever}- one who viewed the line as it 
passed." 

In 1897 the year of the dengue fever, German Day was 
celebrated in Forest Park, with Mr. Julius Schuetze, Sr., 
of Austin, orator, and despite the quarantine established in 
m.any places around Houston, was quite successful. 

In 1898, the year of the Spanish-American war, Mr. F. 
Hacker was president of the German Day committee. The 
celebration took place at Turner Hall gardens, the orators 
of the occasion being Dr. Urwitz and Captain Hutcheson. 
In deference of a German custom, a young oak tree (Fried- 
enseiche) was planted at the northwest corner of the Tur- 
ner Hall block and dedicated to the care of the people of 
Houston. Children's games and exercises, productions of 
tableaux, arranged by Mr. V. Juenger, and a grand ball 
were the special features of this celebration. 

Next year (1899), German Day was celebrated by the 
Houston Saengerbund in the new Saengerbund hall with 
Mr. M. Tiling as orator of the day. 

In 1900, German Day was again celebrated on a large 
scale. The festivities began with a concert in the afternoon 
at Turner Hall garden, interspersed with songs and exer- 
cises of 250 children, under the direction of V. Juenger, and 
gymnastics by members of the Turnverein under the direc- 
tion of the late Captain E. B. H. Schneider. The oration 
was delivered by the Hon W. A. Trenckmann of Bellville, 
and at night a festival play, "All Hail, Columbia," and tab- 
leaux, personifying the developments of gymnastics, were 
set on the stage, while the usual grand ball finished the 
day's exercises. The officers of that year's celebration were 
M. Tiling, President; G. F. Sauter, First Mce-President ; 
F. Wallrab, Second Vice-President; M. Kattmann, Treas- 
urer ; and C. C. Lieb, Secretary. 

From 1901 to 1907 Mr. G. F. Sauter was president of the 
German Day general committee, which in June, 1906, was 



German Element in Terras 181 

changed into the Houston German Day Association (Inc.)- 
The charter was signed as incorporators by G. F. Santer, 
L. Gus Mueller, V. Juenger, C. C. Lieb and L. C. Christian- 
sen, and as directors for the first year, besides these incor- 
porators, were named Dr. H. A. Engelhardt, G. P. Zeiss. 
'M. Tiling, F. H. Potthoff, Wm. A. Reichardt and Wm. 
Fuchs. 

Since the year 1900 to 1908, the yearly German Day cele- 
brations have not differed materially from each other, each 
being held without much outward display at Turner Hall, 
and consisting mainly of children's songs and calisthenic 
exercises, speeches in German and English, vocal and in- 
strumental concerts and concluding with the customary ball. 

German Day celebration in 1909 was the first since many 
years in which the German-American citizens of Houston 
went prominently before the public, and under the direc- 
tion of President A. Hellberg and Grand Marshal Wm. Bot- 
tler, proved conclusively that the spirit of former years had 
only been dormant, but not extinct. The splendor of the 
great street parade, the "clou" of carnival celebration, is 
still fresh in the memory of all who saw, applauded and ad- 
mired it. and does not need to be extolled. 

Extensive preparations had been made for the celebration 
in 1910, which exceeded in its scope and the magnificence 
of its parade any previous festival. The orators on this oc- 
casion were Governor-elect O. B. Colquitt, and J. C. von 
Rosenberg, Grand President of the Order of the Sons of 
Hermann in Texas. The great pageant was again under 
the command of Grand Marshal Wm. Bottler, while Messrs. 
V. Juenger, C. Stock and C. ^^^ Hille. with a strong corps 
ot assistants had for two months been industriously engaged 
planning, building and decorating twelve gorgeous and ar- 
tistically finished floats that in beauty of conception and 
elegance of execution, eclipsed anything heretofore seen in 
Houston. 



WORKS FOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES. 



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derung im Grossen aus Deutschland in die nord- 
amerikanisclien Freistaaten, Giessen, 1833. 

Auswanderer nach Texas, der. Ein Handbuch und Rath- 
geber fiir die, welche sich in Texas ansiedeln wollen. 
Bremen, 1846. 

Behr von, Ottomar : Cuter Rath fiir Auswanderer nach 
den Vereinigten Staaten von Nord America mit be- 
sonderer Beriicksichtigung von Texas, Leipzig, 1847. 

G. G. Benjamin: Germans in Texas, Philadelphia, 1910. 

Berghaus, Heinrich : Die Vereinigten Staaten von Nord 
Amerika, Gotha, 1848. 

Bromme, Trautgott : Neustes vollstandigstes Hand- und 
Reisebuch fiir Auswanderer, Bayreuth, 1846. 

Bruncken, Ernest : German Political Refugees in America, 
1815 to i860; Chicago, 1904 (reprint of Deutsch-Amer- 
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Buettner, J, G. : Briefe aus und iiber Amreika, oder 
Beitrage zu einer richtigen Kenntniss der \ ereinigten 
Staaten von Nord Amerika und ihrer Bewohner ; Dres- 
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Douai, Adolf: Land und Lcute in Amerika; Berlin. 1864. 

Duden. Gottfried : Bericht iibcr eine Reise nach den west- 
lichen Staaten Nordamerikas und einen m.ehrjahrigen 
Aufcnhalt am Missouri in den Jahrcn, 182 1. 1825, 
1826, 1827. St. Gallen, 1832. 

Ehrenberg, Hermann : Der Freiheitskampf in Texas: Leip- 
zig, 1844. 

Ehrenberg, Hermann : Texas und seine Revolution ; Leip- 
zig. 1843. 



184 German Element in Texas 

Eickhof f . Anton : In der neuen Heimath (zweite Aus- 
gabe). New York, 1885. 

Fest-Ausgabe zum fiuifzigjahrigen Jubilaum der deutschen 
Kolonie Friedrichsburg. Fine kurzgefasste Entwickel- 
ungs-Geschichte der vom Mainzer Andelsverein ge- 
grijndeten Kolonien in Texas. Fredericksburg, Texas, 
1896, by Robert Penninger. 

Grund, F. J. : The Americans. 2 vols. London, 1837. 

Hecke, J. Valentin : Reise durch die Vereinigsten Staaten 
von Nord Amerika in den Jahren 1818-1819. 2 vols. 
Berlin, 1821. 

Hoehne, Friedrich : Wahn und Ueberzeugung. Seine 
Reise von Weimar iiber Bremen nach Nordamerika und 
Texas in den Jahren 1 839-1 841 ; Weimar, 1844. 

Kapp, Friedrich : Aus und iiber Amerika, Thatsachen und 
Erlebnisse. 2 vols. Berlin, 1876. 

Kapp, Friederich : Die Geschichte der deutschen Ansie- 
delungen des westlichen Texas und dessen Bedeutung 
fiir die Vereinigten Staaten (in Atlantische Studien, 
ol. I, p. 173, ff). 

Kapp, Friederich : The History of Texas, Early German 
Colonization, Princes and Nobles in America, the Fu- 
ture of the State; (in New York Tribune, Jan. 20, 
1855). 

Loeher, Franz : Geschichte und Zustande der Deutschen 
in Amerika; Cincinnati und Leipzig, 1847. 

Meusebach, John O. : Answers to Interrogatories ; Austin, 
1894. 

Olmsted, Frederick Law : A Journey Through Texas or 
a Saddle Trip on the Southwestern Frontier (Our 
Slave States, Vol. II), New York, i860. 

Roemer, Ferdinand: Texas. Mit besonderer Riicksicht 
auf deutsche Auswanderung und die physischen Ver- 
haltnisse des Landes. Bonn, 1849. 



German Element in Teocas 185 

Rosenberg. William von : Kritik der Geschichte des Ve- 

reins zum Schiitze der deutschen Auswanderer nach 

Texas. Austin, 1894. 
Scherpf, G. A. : Entstehungsgeschichte und gegenwartiger 

Zustand des neuen imabhangigen amerikanischen Staats 

Texas. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte, Statistik und 

Geographic dieses Jahrhunderts, im Lande selbst ge- 

sammelt. Augsburg, 1841. 
Sealsfield, Charles (Carl Postl) : Life in the New World, 

or Sketches of American Society. Translated from the 

German by G. C. Mackey. New York, 1844. 
Sealsfield, Charles : The Cabin Book, or Sketches of Life 

in Texas. Translated from the German by C. H. 

Mersch. New York, 1844. 
Soergel, Alwin H. : Neuste Nachrichten aus Texas ; Eisle- 

ben, 1847. 
Texanische Monatshefte ,L. F. Lafrentz, XIII Yols. San 

Antonio, 1895 -1909. 
Wrede, Friederich von : Lebensbilder aus den Yereinigten 

Staaten von Nord Amerika und Texas. Cassel, 1844. 



LANDUNG IN GALVESTON. WEITERFAHRT 

NACH PORT LAVACA. 

am 26. November 1844. 

Von Fritz Goldbeck. 



Hurrah, hurrah, das Prarieland ! 

Am Horizont erglanzt der Strand, 

So rief's herunter aus den Wanten, 

Laut jubelten die Emigranten. 

Der Lotse, ein gebraunter Mann, 

Kam fkigs im Segelboot heran, 

Lenkt sicher unser schiff zum Hafen ; 

Wir konnten einnial ruhig schlafen. 

Da waren wir in Galveston ! 

Wer hatte nicht gehort davon ; 

Damals war dort nicht viel zu holen, 

Heut zahh es zu den Metropolen. 

Von Galveston nach kurzer Rast, 

Auf kleinem Schiff mit einem Mast, 

Fuhren wir nach Port Lavacca weiter, 

Der Himmel war bis dahin heiter. 

Recht trostlich klang fiir uns das Wort : 

"Bis morgen Mittag seid ihr dort, 

Noch einmal vierundzwanzig Stunden 

Und Alles habt ihr iiberwunden !" 

Nicht wie der Mensch es wiinscht und denkt 

Das Schicksal seine Bahnen lenkt, 

Denn in den nachsten schlimmen Tagen 

Gabs viel zu jammern und zu klagen. 

Gleich in der Nacht der Sturm brach los, 

Als kam er aus dem Hollenscboss 

Mit Brausen. Aechzen, Heulen. Pfeifcn. 

Der tollen Windsbraut rasend Keifen. 



188 German Element in Tei'm 

Der Sturm entfiihrte unser Boot, 

Ein Leek im Schiff, es wuchs die Noth. 

Vol! war damit der Ungliickshumpen, 

Man griff verzweifelt zu den Pumpen. 

Im Schiffsraum sah es traurig aus, 

Dort herrschten Schrecken, Angst und Graus, 

Zum Tod geangstigt, weinten, klagten, 

Die Menschenkinder, die Verzagten. 

Oft habe ich zuriickgedacht 

An jene grauenvoUe Nacht, 

Die Lent' beim Pumpen festgebunden, 

Verlebten schrecklich bange Stunden ; 

Die Wellen stiirzten iiber Deck 

Und Arbeit heischte stets das Leek, 

Steif wurden die durchnaszten Kleider, 

Denn eisig blies der Norder leider. 

Der Sturm trieb uns mit wildem Drang, 

Fort, fort, wohl eine Woche lang, 

Gen Suden durch die Wasserwiiste 

An Merikos entfernte Kiiste. 

Zum Gliick kam dann von Siid der Wind, 

Der fiihrte uns zuriick geschwind, 

So dasz auch schon in wenig Tagen 

Wir an der Texas Kiiste lagen. 

Nacht wars, der Eingang zu der P>ai 

Sehr seicht, wir legten darum bei ; 

Der Anker lag in gutem Grunde, 

Wir schliefen sanft schon manche Stunde, 

Da weekte uns ein jaher Stoss — 

Der Satan war schon weider los, 

Vom neuen Norder angeblasen 

War wiederum das Meer am rasen. 

Die Starke Ankerette brach, 

Die bosen Geister blieben wach, 

Um jede Hoffnung zu ermiiden, 

Trieb unser Schiff nochmals gen Siiden. 



German Element in Texas 189 

Ein ander Unheil wurd' bekannt, 

Es fehlte bald an Proviant 

Und, wenn das Schicksal es nicht wende, 

Geh siiszes Wasser audi zu Ende. 

Zum Heil der Norder, Anfangs schlimm, 

Liess nach mit seinem vvilden Grimm, 

Wir thaten uns auch nicht genieren 

Und gingen tapfer an's lavieren. 

Das Ungliick war wohl endlich miid, 

Die Brise legte um nach Siid, 

Ein jeder von uns, wieder kregel, 

Half Ziehen an dem groszen Segel. 

So fuhren wir zur Bai hinein 

Mit Singen, lubeln, lauchzen, Schrein. 

Hell glanzten unseres Gliickes Sterne, 

Lavacca zeigte sich von Feme! 

Mit Tiichern winkte man vom Strand, 

Der dichtgedrangt voll Menschen stand, 

Man hatte uns schon aufgegeben. 

War nun erfreut, dass wir am Leben. 



Die Landreise nach der neuen Colonie (spater Neu 
Braunfels.) 1845. 

Wir zogen aus Lavacca fort. 
Von Lagerort zu Lagerort, 
Bedachtig langsam fortgetragen 
Auf groszen schweren Ochsenwagen. 
Im consequenten Schneckengang 
Bewegten wir uns wochenlang 
Durch graue wogende Prarien, 
Sahn dort das Wild in Rudeln ziehen. 
Nicht ohne Reiz war jene Zeit, 
Wir hatten oft Gelegenheit 
Uns Intressantes anzusehen. 
Und kounten immer jagen gehen. 



190 German Element in Texas 

Wild jeder Gattung ohne Zahl, 

Der lager hatte freie Wahl, 

Die Prarie bot ihm reiche Birsche 

Es gab dort Hiihner, Gans und Hirsche, 

Die Enten und das Wasserhuhn 

Bekamen selten Zeit zum ruh'n. 

Oft knallte es in alien Ecken, 

So dass die Thierwelt muszt erschrecken. 

Den weiten Weg heratif vom Golf 

Hielt Nacht's Concert der Prariewolf 

Bei irgend welchen todten Rindern, 

Ganz ungefahrlich selbstden Kindern. 

Trnthahne koUerten im Wald, 

Der Wagenfiihrer rief sien Halt, 

Dann knatterte ein Rottenfeuer 

Und der Erfolg war ungeheuer. 

Die Frauen waren drob erstaunt, 

Dass so das lagdijliick sei gelaunt ; 

Wer sah denn je zevor dessgleichen. 

Ein halbes Dutzend Puterleichen. 

Nur selten traf man eine Farm, 

Wenn es geschah, gab es Alarm. 

Da wurde viel gestaunt, bewundert. 

Die Kiihe zahlte man beim Hundert, 

Und gastlich war jedwedes Haus, 

Die Leute kamen gleich heraus, 

Erfreut die Hande uns zu driicken. 

Mit Speis und Trank uns zu erquicken. 

Man brachte Eier, Milch und Brod, 

Es herrschte Ueberfluss statt Noth ; 

Mit Freuden hat man's uns gegeben, 

Ein wirklich paradiesisch Leben. 

Es hat natiirlich nicht verfehlt, 

Und uns mit frohem Muth beseelt. 

Doch ist's nicht lange so geblieben, 

Kam viel zu oft. ward iibertrieben. 



German Element in Texas 191 

lagdabenteucr i^ab es viel. 

Der Spottlust dienten sie als Ziel. 

Ein lager es gar sehr bereute, 

Da er ein Stinkthier bracht als Beute ; 

Ein Andrer liatte viel \'erdruss 

Durch seinen wohlgezielten Scliuss, 

Der Truthahn, der von ihm erlegte, 

Die Lachlust allgemein erregte ! 

Des \'ogels Duft, fiirwahr kein Spasz, 

Stieg ganz bedenklich in die Xaf, 

Ein Missgriff auf der der alten Leier, 

Der Truthahn war ein Buzzard-Geier. 

Gleich oberhalb Vivttoria 

Sahn wir die ersten Tonqueva. 

Die rothen. haszlichcn Gesellen, 

Bekleidet mit gegerbten Fellen. 

Wir wurden anch am Weg bekannt 

Mit dem verwiinschten Prariebrand, 

Und konnten. uni ihm auszuweichen. 

Noch grad den Uferwald erreichen. 

An Pferden hatte jeder Freud, 

Die groszen, wie die kleinen Leut. 

Manch einer ritt da. stolz im Gliicke. 

Bis ihn ereilte Schicksalstiicke. 

Sein spanisch Ross es hielt siir Pflicht. 

Und bracht ihn aus dem Gleichgewicht. 

Der Aermste lag alsdann im Grase 

Und rieb sich die geschund'ne Nase. 

Dann kamen wir zur Guadalup, 

Der Fluss. wie ein recht boser P>ub. 

War unmanierlich, stark am Tollen. 

Recht iiberfliissig angeschwollen. 

Wie nach der Schrift es einst geschah. 

So saszen auch wir trauernd da 

Und schauten auf den Strom, den triiben. 

Die neue Heimath lag ja driiben. 



192 German Element in Texas 

Am Tag darauf. noch friih es war, 
Kam Prinz von Solms mit einer Schaar 
Liess einen Strick heriiber bringen, 
Um unseres Wagens Deichsel schlingen 
Durch Flaschenzuges Allgewalt 
Zog man uns dann hiniiber bald, 
Beendet in gegebener Weise 
War damit unsere lange Reise. 



Das Lager auf der Zinkenburg, wo jetzt die katho- 
lische Kirsche steht, 1845. 

Am hohen Ufer, Zelt an Zelt, 

In langen Reihen aufgestellt, 

Der Raum umzaumt mit Pallisaden, 

Zu schiitzen vor Gefahr und Schaden. 

Ein Eingang nur, und der bewacht 

Durch einen Posten, Tag und Nacht ; 

Zum Ueberflusz in zwei Bastionen 

Auch noch geladene Kanonen, 

Dann noch des Prinzen Kompagnie, 

In Stiefeln bis weit iibers Knie, 

Und Uniformen dunkelgrauen, 

Recht schmuck und stattlich anzuschauen, 

Der Federbusch am breiten Hut 

Stand den beblousten Reitern gut, 

Bespornt, die Schwerter an den Seiten, 

lust wie zu Gustav Adolfs Zeiten 

Und diese schmucke Reiterei 

Manoverierte frank und frei 

Auf ihren Merikaner Rossen, 

Nach Scheiben wurde auch geschossen. 

Zur Sicherheit war das genug, 

Und Vorsicht gute Friichte trug, 

Wir blieben ungestort in Frieden, 

Obsfleich die Wilden uns nicht mieden. 



German Elevicnt in Texas 193 

Der Haiiplling Castro ein Lippan, 

Bot gleich deni Prinzen Freundschaft an, 

Kam ihn im Lager zu besuchen, 

Trank Wein und ass vom deutschen Kuchen. 

Mit ihm hat damals Prinz Durchlaucht 

Die Friedenspfeife schlau geraucht, 

Es war gewiss zu unserm Besten, 

Dass Er verkehrt mit solchen Gasten. 

Oft waren drauszen wir im Wakl, 

Erschreckte uns wolil die Gestalt 

Von irgend einem Delawaren, 

Mit Falkenblick und schwarzen Haaren, 

Ein Wink der Hand fur uns, ein Grusz, 

Fort huschte er mit leichtem Fusz. 

Wir, die Erschreckten, lachten heiter 

Und gingen unseres Weges weiter. 

Im Lage^r stand das Magazien, 

Es war nicht immer viel darin. 

Drum fand manch kerngesunder Magen 

Gelegenheit, sich zu bekkigen. 

Oft diente Erbsenbrei statt Mehl, 

Ich mache daraus gar kein Hehl, 

Fiir unverdorbene Geschmacker 

1st Erbsenbrod besonders lecker. 

Man mag mir's glauben, jene Zeit 

Bracht manche Unannehmlichkeit, 

Zum Beispiel, die da mit dem Essen. 

Wenn Mundvorrath wurd karg gemessen. 

Fleisch gabs genug, wenn nicht vom Rmd, 

So schosz man einen Hirsch geschwind, 

Holt sich auch wohl 'nen Puterbraten, 

Das waren keine Heklenthaten. 

Es herrschte darum ofter Noth. 

Ein jeder sehnte sich nach Brod. 

Und batten wir so gem wie's Leben, 

Fiir Brod, die Braten hingegeben. 



194 German Element in Texas 

Dann war einmal vorbei das Leid, 

Ein Wagen brachte Welschgetreid' 

Von alien Enden, alien Ecken, 

Kam man herbei mit groszen Sacken ; 

Das Theilergebnisz, leider klein, 

Ein Tropfen nur auf heissem Stein, 

Drum konnt die Freud nicht lange wahren, 

Ob der gefaszten vierzig Aehren. 

Viel Hunde sind des Hasen Tod, 

Gleich gab es wieder neue Noth, 

Es war auf Hiigeln und in Griinden, 

Nur eine Miile da zu finden. 

Ein solches Werk, heut unbekannt, 

Wurd dann gedreht durch Menschenhand. 

Mit Sacken zog man bin in Schaaren, 

Um sich den Vortritt zu bewahren ; 

Oft Morgens, nach durchwachter Nacht, 

Hat man sein Mehl nach Haus gebracht. 

Zum Schlusse muszte Holz man hacken, 

Eh Mutter Kuchen konnte backen, 

Doch dann gab's einen Hochgenusz, 

Wenn auch nicht grad zum Ueberflusz. 

Der Kuchen war gerecht zerschnitten, 

So wurde nicht darum gestritten ; 

Gab es gar Kaffee noch dabei, 

Hielt man es fiir'ne Schwelgerei. 

Viel mehr kounf ja der Mensch nicht hoffen, 

Und wenig- blieb zu wiinschen offen. 



Die erste Ansiedelung der Stadt Neu Braunfels, 
1845. 

Da Zink die Stadt vermessen hatt', 
Fand die Verlosung endlich statt. 
Nachher war Mancher nicht zufrieden 
Mit dem, was ihm durch's Loos beschieden, 



German Element in Texas 195 

Gerieth in einen wilden Zorn, 
Sprach Unverniinstiges vervvorrn, 
Verkaufte schieszlich dann im Dusel, 
Den Bauplatsz fiir'ne Flasche Fusel. 
Wer kounte, baute sich ein Haus 
Und zog als bald vom Lager aus. 
Die Andern mussten es entgelten, 
Die noch verblieben in den Zelten. 
Sturm niit Gewitter jeden Tag, 
Manch morsches Zelt zusammenbrach, 
Man horte jammern in der Pause 
Des Regenfalls und Sturmgebrause. 
War es gleich nachher wieder hell, 
Vergasz man seine Leiden schnell. 
Ging wacker an das Klotze spalten, 
Ein Obdach daraus zu gestalten. 
An jedem Tag es meist geschah, 
Dass man ein neues Hauschen sah, 
War'n es auch keine Prachtgebaude, 
Man hatte daran seine Freude. 
Absonderlich wurd oft gebaut, 
Wie man es heute nimmer schaut, 
Wo jedes Obdach wird zum Segen, 
Was ist da an der Form gelegen. 
Wir waren, wie man sagte, griin, 
Vorischtig tastend, nicht zu kiihn, 
In vielen Dingen unerfahren. 
Die wir erlernt in spater'n lahren. 
Ein Ding kam uns dabei zu gut, 
Wir batten immer frohen Muth, 
Und lieszen uns durch Schicksalstiicken, 
Nicht leicht aus dem Geleise riicken. 
Oft gab schon eine Kleingkeit, 
Uns Grund zu groszer Heiterkeit. 
Wir sassen eines Tag's beim Essen ; 
Ein Indianer unterdessen 



196 German Element in Texas 

Schlich Katzengleich zu iins heran 
Und sah die Speisen liistern an, 
Flink hat er dann 'nen guten Bissen 
Von Bruders Gabel fortgerissen, 
Gliickselig schmunzelnd wie ein Kind 
Das einen Apfel sich gewinnt. 
Wir haben ihm noch mehr gegeben, 
Als Lohn fiir sein energisch Streben. 
Ein reizend Bild man spater sah, 
Es war ein alter Tonqueva 
Im Modefrack und mit Cylinder, 
Wir freuten uns darob nicht minder. 
Der Alte schritt, mit Blicken stolz. 
So kerzengrad wie Schindelholz, 
Er schien zu wandeln wie auf Rosen, 
Es fehlten leider ihm die Hosen. 



APPENDIX A. 



Letter of Friedrich Ernst to Mr. Schwarz, Oldenburg, 1832. 
(From G. G. Benjamin's "Germans in Texas.") 

Dear Friend : — 

In February of the previous year we embarked on a brig 
to New Orleans. It was still winter on our departure from 
New York, then mild spring breezes blew upon us four 
days after our departure. Between Cuba and Florida we 
had later real summer, and the whole sea voyage of a 
thousand miles over that part of the ocean, through the 
Bahama Islands, into the Gulf of Mexico, up to the mouth 
of the Mississippi, we lay constantly against the wind and 
came somewhat back. On the Mississippi up to New Or- 
leans, 1 20 miles (five make a German mile) we received 
favorable news of Austin's colony in Texas. We embarked 
again in a schooner of 37 tons and landed after an eight- 
day voyage at Harrisburg, in this colony. Each immigrant 
who wishes to engage in farming receives a league of land ; 
a single person, one-quarter of a league. A league is a league 
long and the same distance in width. He has in fees for sur- 
veying, cost of introduction, etc., to pay $160 in install- 
ments ; he must take the oath of citizenship and is, after 
a period of a year, a citizen of the free United States of 
Mexico ; also, as Europeans, who are especially welcome, we 
received a peculiarly good league of land, and built upon it. 

The State of Te.xas, in which our colony (Austin's col- 
ony) makes nearly the sixtli part (?), lies in the south 



198 German Element in Texas 

(ought to be western coast) of the Gulf of Mexico, between 
the twenty-seventh degree and the thirty-first degree north 
latitude (25 degrees 50 minutes to 36 degrees 30 minutes 
north latitude is the correct latitude), in which also Na- 
poleon's followers have settled. The rivers Trinidad, Rio 
Brassos (Brazos) and Rio Colorado flow through Austin's 
colony. It contains the chief city, San Felipe de Austin, 
and the settlements of Harrisburgh, Brassoria (Brazoria) 
and Matagardo (Matagorda). One sails in three or four 
days to Tampico and Vera Cruz. The ground is hilly and 
alternates with forest and natural grass plains. Various 
kinds of trees. Climate like that of Sicily. The soil needs 
no fertilizer. Almost constant east wind. No winter, almost 
like March in Germany. Bees, birds and butterflies the 
whole winter through. A cow with her calf costs $10. For 
ploughing oxen are used. Planters who have 700 head of 
cattle are common. Principal products : Tobacco, rice, in- 
digo (grows wild), sweet potatoes, melons of an especial 
goodness, watermelons, wheat, rye, vegetables of all kinds ; 
peaches in great quantity grow wild in the woods ; mul- 
berries, many kinds of walnuts, wild plums, persimmons, 
sweet as honey ; wine in great quantity, but not of a par- 
ticular taste; honey is found chiefly in hollow trees. Birds 
of all kinds, from pelicans to humming birds. Wild prey, 
such as deer, bears, raccoons, wild turkeys, geese, par- 
tridges (the latter as large as domestic fowls), etc., in 
quantity. Free hunting and fishing. Wild horses and buf- 
falo in hordes ; wolves, but of a feeble kind ; also panthers 
and leopards, of which there is no danger ; rich game, deli- 
cious roasts. Meadows with the most charming flowers. 
Many snakes, also rattlesnakes ; each planter knows safe 



German Element in Texas 199 

means against them. A league of land contains 4440 acres 
of land, mountain and valley, woods and meadows, cut 
through by brooks. Through many settlers at one point, the 
value of it rises so high in price that it has already come 
to be sold at a dollar per acre. English the ruling speech. 
Slavery forbidden, but silently allowed. Day labor three- 
quarters to a dollar, with board. 

Clothing and shoes very dear. Each settler builds himself 
a block-house. The more children, the better for easy field 
labor. The same manner of life as in North America. Mos- 
quitoes and gnats only common on the coast. Formerly no, 
and later on only community taxes. Yearly scarcely three 
months work. No need for money, free exercise of religion, 
and the best markets for all products at the Mexican har- 
bors ; up the river there is much silver, but there are still 
Indian races there. We men satisfy ourselves with hunting 
and horse races. On account of the better markets, many 
people have come here from Missouri. One should go from 
Bremen to New Orleans; from there to Harrisburg, the 
cost being $10 per person; goods must be paid extra; chil- 
dren only cost half price ; living utensils are bought in New 
Orleans ; with favorable winds the journey lasts only four 
days. On account of the yellow fever, one should arrive 
in New Orleans some weeks before the month of July, or 
after the first of October. Arrived in Harrisburg wagons 
with oxen are rented to San Felipe where one reports to 
the land office ; it is a good thing if one speaks English ; 
only enough money is needed as is necessary to purchase a 
league of land. A father of a family must remember that 
he receives on his arrival, through the land granted to him, 



200 German Element in Texas 

a county (Grafschaft). which will come to be worth in a 
short time, from $700 to $800, for which it is often sold 
here. The expenses for the land need not be paid immedi- 
ately. Many raise the money from their cattle. For my ac- 
quaintances and former countrymen I have on my estate 
a stopping- place until they have selected a league of land, 
w^hich is not done so quickly. Colonel Austin, however, 
promised recently to take care that German arrivals should 
be settled immediately. Who is unmarried, will bring a good 
sensible companion for life with him. He who is married, 
knows that many children belong to wealth. Arrived at San 
Felipe, ask for Frederick Ernst at Mill Creek. It is 30 
miles from there and you will find me. In New Orleans are 
purchased good axes for cutting wood of Merchant Mar- 
tinstein, Rue de Chartres. He is a German, and he will take 
especial care that you have everything necessary. On the 
journey to San Felippe you must camp in the open air. 
You must not lack meal and meat, a pair of good boots and 
a rifle, as well as a saddle are essential needs. The chief 
city of Texas is San Antonio on the Rio Del Norte. Your 
friend, Fritz Ernst. 

N. B. — Passports are not necessary. Sons over 17 have 
like part in the settlement of the land. 



APPENDIX B. 



A Little German Girl in Early Texas. 

Ry Caroline von Hinueber. 

(From "The Quarterly" of the Texas Historical Asso- 
ciation.) 

When my father came to Texas I was a child of eleven 
or twelve years. My father's name was Frederich Ernst. 
He was by profession a bookkeeepr, and emigrated from 
the duchy of Oldenburg. Shortly after landing in New York 
h'c fell in with ^Ir. Fordtran, a tanner and a countryman of 
his. A book by a Mr. Duden, setting forth the advantages 
of the new State of Missouri, had come into their hands, 
and they determined to settle in that State. While in New 
Orleans, they heard that every settler who came to Texas 
with his family would receive a league and labor of land 
from the Mexican government. This information induced 
them to abandon their first intention. We set sail for Texas 
in the schooner Saltillo (Sal-teel'-yo). Just as we were 
ready to start, a flatboat with a party of Kentuckians and 
their dogs hitched to our vessel, the Kentuckians coming 
aboard and leaving their dogs on the flatboat. 

We were almost as uncomfortable as the dogs. The boat 
was jammed with passengers and their luggage, so that you 
could hardly find a place on the floor to lie down at night. 
I firmly believe that a strong wind would have drowned us 
all. We landed at Harrisburg, which consisted at that time 
of about five or six log houses, on the 3d of April, 1831. 
Captain Harris had a sawmill, and there was a store or two, 
I believe. Here we remained five weeks, while Fordtran 
went ahead of us and selected a league of land, where now 
stands the town of Industry. 

While on our way to our new home, we stayed in San 



202 Ger7nan Element in Texas 

Felipe for several days at Whiteside's Tavern. The court- 
house was about a mile out of town, and there R. M. Wil- 
liamson, who was then the alcalde, had his office. I saw 
him several times while I was here, and remember how I 
wondered at his crutch and wooden leg. S. F. Austin was 
in Mexico at the time, and Sam Williams, his private sec- 
retary, gave my father a title to land which he had original- 
ly picked out for himself. My father had to kiss the Bible 
and promise, as soon as the priest should arrive, to become 
a Catholic. People were married by the alcalde also, on 
the promise that they would have themselves reunited on the 
arrival of the priest. But no one ever became Catholic, 
though the priest, Father Muldoon, arrived promptly. 

My father was the first German to come to Texas with 
his family. He wrote a letter to a friend, a Mr. Schwarz, 
in Oldenburg, which was published in the local newspaper. 
This brought a number of Germans, with their families, 
to Texas in 1834. 

After we had lived on Fordtran's place for six months, 
we moved into our own house. This was a miserable little 
hut, covered with straw and having six sides, which were 
made out of moss. The roof was by no means waterproof, 
and we often held an umbrella over our bed when it rained 
at night, while cows came and ate the moss. Of course we 
suffered a great deal in winter. My father had tried to 
build a chimney and fireplace out of logs and clay, but we 
were afraid to light a fire because of the extreme com- 
bustibility of our dwelling. So we had to shiver. 

Our shoes gave out, and we had to go barefoot in winter, 
for we did not know how to make moccasins. Our supply 
of clothes was also insufficient, and we had no spinning 
wheel, nor did we know how to spin and weave like the 
Americans. It was twenty-eight miles to San Felipe, and, 
besides we had no money. When we could buy things, my 
first calico dress cost fifty cents per yard. 

No one can imagine what a degree of want there was of 



German Element in Texas 203 

the merest necessities of life, and it is difficult for me now 
to understand how we managed to live and get along under 
the circumstances. Yet we did so in some way. We were 
really better supplied than our neighbors with household 
and farm utensils, but they knew better how to help them- 
selves. Sutherland used his razor for cutting kindling, 
killing pigs, and cutting leather for moccasins. My mother 
was once called to a neighbor's house, five miles from us, 
because one of the little children was very sick. My mother 
slept on a deer skin, without a pillow, on the floor. In the 
morning, the lady of the house poured water over my moth- 
er's hands and told her to dry her face on her bonnet. 

At first we had very little to eat. We ate nothing but 
corn bread at first. Later we began to raise cowpeas, and 
afterwards my father made a fine vegetable garden. At first 
wc grated our corn, until father hollowed out a log and we 
ground it as in a mortar. We had no cooking stove, of 
course, and baked our bread in the only skillet we possessed. 
The ripe corn was boiled until it was soft, then grated and 
baked. The nearest mill was thirty miles off. 

The country was very thinly settled. Our three neigh- 
bors, Burnett, Dougherty, and Sutherland, lived in a radius 
of seven miles. San Felipe was twenty-eight miles off, and 
there were about two houses on the road thither. In con- 
sequence, there was no market for anything you could raise, 
except for cigars and tobacco, which my father was the first 
in Texas to put on the market. We raised barely what we 
needed, and we kept it. Around San Felipe, certainly, it 
was different, and there were some beautiful farms in the 
vicinity. 

Before the war there was a school in Washington, taught 
bv Miss Trest, where the Doughertys sent their daughter, 
boarding her in the city. Of course we did not patronize it. 

We lived in our doorless and windowless six-cornered 
pavilion about three years. 



APPENDIX C. 



Organische Statute der Colonization. 

(From Handbuch fiir Auswanderer.) 

I. Bedingungen der Annahme. 
Art. I. Um als Mitglied der Colonic aufgenommen zu wer- 
den, bedijrfen die Einwanderer folgende Urkunden : 

1. Einen Geburtsakt. 

2. Einen Copulations-Schein, wenn sie verheirat- 

het sind. 

3. Ein Moralitats-Zengniss ihrer friiheren Orts- 

behorde. 

Art. 2. Bis andere Bestimmungen erfolgen, haben diesel- 
ben geniigende Alittel nachzuweisen um sowohl die 
Kosten der Ueberfahrt, als jene des Unterhaltes in der 
Colonie wiihrend der ersten 6 Monate zu decken. 

Art. 3. Dieselben haben sich 3 Tage vor der Abreise an dem 
Einschiffungsorte einzufinden. Nur vermittelst eines 
Annahme-Zeugnisses ausgestellt von der Administra- 
tion, werden sie auf den Fahrzeugen des \^ereins zu- 
gelassen. 

Art. 4. Die Kosten der Ueberfahrt zerfallen in 2 Classen : 
Ueberfahrt mit Verkostignng, Ueberfahrt ohne Ver- 
kostigtiJig. Auswanderer, welche der letzten Classe sich 
anschliessen, haben zureichendcn Vorrath fiir einen 
Zeitraum von 2 Monaten — muthmassliche Dauer der 
Ueberfahrt — nachzuweisen. 

Verbindlichkeiten des Vereins. 

Art. 5. Der Verein giebt jedem Familienhaupte, welches 
nach dessen Colonie in Texas sicht begiebt, von seinem 
Besitzungen 320 Acres Landes, amerikanisches Maas, 
ungefahr 500 INIorgen deutsche Massung. Jeder un- 



German Element in Texas 205 

verheirathete Einwanderer, der wenigstens 17 Jahre 
zahlt, hat Anspriiche auf die Halfte dieses Quantums. 
Im Augenblick der Abreice wird jedem Einwanderer 
ein provisorischer Erwerbstitel zugestellt, welcher 
spater — nach Ausweis des Art 23 — gegen einen 
definitiven Erwerbstitel ungetauscht wird. 
Art. 6. Es enthiilt dieser provisorische Erwerbstitel die Ord- 
nungs-Nummer, welche das Loos bezeichnet, auf 
welches dem Einwanderer Eigenthums-Anspriiche zu- 
stehen. Die Einweisung in das bewilligte Grundeigen- 
thum geschieht an Ort und Stelle. 
Art. 7. Es stellt der Verein unentgeldlich die Transport- 
Mittel fiir Familie und Gerathschaften der Einwander- 
er vom Anlandungsorte nach der Colonic. 

Die Fiirsorge des \'ereins wird — soUte sic es sach- 
dienlich erachten — einen Dampfbootdienst auf den 
Fliissen herstellen. 
Art. 8. Es sorgt der Verein fiir Nahrung und Unterkunft 
der Einwanderer vom Landungspunkte bis zur An- 
kunft in der Colonic. Fiir letzere findet keine Riick- 
vergiitigung statt, wohl aber fiir erstere. 
Art. 9. Um der Einwanderer Existenz zu erleichtern und 
denselben die Mittel zur Arbeit zu verschaffen, wird 
der Verein in der Colonic sclbst ein Magazin — einen 
Bazar — eroffnen, welches alle nothigen Lebensbediirf- 
nisse, alle Acker-und Handwerksgerathe, die Samereien 
und iiberhaupt alle einer Colonic unentbehrlichen Ge- 
genstande darbietet. 

Es sorgt der Verein fiir das zum Ackerbau nothige 
Zugvieh. Alle diese Gegenstiinde sowohl als das 
Zugvieh werden dem Einwanderer zu dem Preise 
geliefert, wie solchcr sich in der der Colonic 
zunachst belcgenen Stadt herausstellt. 
Art. 10. Natural- Vorschiisse werden denjenigen Einwan- 
derern gewahrt werden, welche sich durch Auffiihrung 



206 German Element in Texas 

und Thatigkeit ztir Arbeit bei der Colonial-Direction 
empfohlen haben. 

Als Garantie fiir Riickzahlung dieser gemachten 
Vorschiisse haften die Besitzungen der Colonisten. 
Art. II. Um das Unterbringen der Ackerbau- und indus- 
triellen Erzeugnisse der Colonic zu erleichtern, wird das 
Comptoir des Vereins diese Produkte fiir eigene Rech- 
nung und nach dem kostenden Preise kaufen, oder 
Sorge tragen, sie fiir Rechnung der Colonisten am Orte 
selbst oder auswarts gegen eine einfache Commissions- 
Gebiihr von 5 Proc. — die ublichen Umschlags-Kosten 
nicht eingerechnet — zu verkaufen. Jedenfalls steht es 
den Colonisten indessen frei, ihre Produkte direkt und 
nach Gutdiinken zu verkaufen. 

Art. 12. Bis die Bevolkerung zu der Seelenzahl gediehen 
ist, um selbst die Kosten eines Gottesdienstes zu be- 
streiten, stellt ihr der Verein eine Kirche zur Verfiig- 
ung, in welcher die Religions-Uebungen der verschie- 
denen Culten, zu denen die Colonisten zalilen, gefeiert 
werden konnen. 

Eine besondere Anordnung wird die Stunden fiir 
Abhaltungen dieser Uebungen normiren. 

Art. 13. Es wird eine Primar-Schule fiir die Kinder der 
Einwanderer ins Leben gerufen. Sie empfangen darin : 

1. Religions-Unterricht, 

2. Unterricht im Lesen, 

3. Unterricht im Schreiben, 

4. Rechnen-Unterricht und endlich. 

5. Unterricht in der deutschen und englischen 

Sprache. 
Art. 14. Es wird in der Colonie eine arztliche Hiilfs-Anstalt, 
eine Apotheke und ein Reconvalescenten-Haus errichtet 
werden. 

Art. 15. Es stiftet der Verein eine Spar-Casse in welche die 
Colonisten ihre Ersparnisse niederlegen konnen. Sie 



German Element in Texas 207 

gewahrt 5 Proc. Zinsen. 

Auf Vorschlag der Colonial-Direction wind der 
Verein die Art der Einlegung und Zuriickziehung 
der Einlage-Quoten, das Maximum der einzule- 
genden Betrage normiren. 
Art. 16. Unmittelbar nach Ankunft der ersten Einwanderer 
wird eine Munizipal-Einrichtung geschaffen, und die 
Rechtspflege durch Anordnung competenter Gerichte 
gesichert werden. 
Art. 17. Bei Arbeiten. welche der Verein fiJr eigene Rech- 
nung ausfiihren lasst, wird er die Einwanderer vorzugs- 
weise verwenden. 

Ein Beschluss der Direction wird dafiir einen Preiss- 
Tarif festsetzen. Es wird der Lohn in Anweisun- 
gen auf die Empfilnger lautend ,ausbezahlt. emit- 
tirt in Gefolge des § 8 der Vereins Statuten. 
Die Casse der Colonial-Direction nimmt diese An- 
weisungen an Zahlungsstatt an ; sie werden auf 
Verlangen des Inhabers gegen Tratten auf die 
Colonial-Casse auf 10 Tage Sicht ausgewechselt. 
Da diese Anweisungen einen Reprasentativ-Gehalt 
bilden, so werden deren niemals mehr als fiir 
einen 2/3 des Capitals der Waaren und des 
Zuchtviehes W'erth emittirt werden. 
III. Rechte und Pflichten der Colonisten. 
Art. 18. Jeder Colonist verfiigt selbstandig und frei iiber 

seine Zeit und seine Arbeit. 
Art. 19. Diejenigen, welche fiir den Verein zu arbeiten 
angenommen werden, verpflichten sich ihm zu einer 
Arbeit, deren Dauer durch die Colonial-Direction nach 
der Jahreszeit und der Art der Arbeit geregelt ist. 
Art. 20. Alle Colonisten sind zur Aufrechthaltung der Ord- 
nung und Sicherheit in der Colonie mitzuwirken ver- 
pflichtet. 

Eine besondere Vorschrift, entworfen von der Colon- 



208 German Element in Texas 

ial-Direction nach dem Bediirfniss der Colonic, 
wird die Art dieser Mitwirkung festsetzen. 

Art. 21. Die Constitution und die Gesetze von Texas regu- 
liren Rechte und Pflichten der Einwanderer als Burger 
der Republik. 

Art. 22. Jeder Einwanderer ist verpflichtet, drei auf einan- 
der folgende Jahre auf dem ihm iiberwiesenen Land- 
strich zu verbleiben, daselbst eine Wohnung zu errich- 
ten und 15 Acres Landes zu bebauen und zu um- 
zaunen. Die Kosten der Vermessung der den Colonis- 
ten bewilligten Landereien, sind von denselben zu 
erstatten. 

Art. 23. Ein Verbalprozess constatirt die Besitz-Einweisung 
in die bewilligten Landereien zur Erganzung des pro- 
visorischen Rechtstitels, wovon in Art. 5 oben die Rede 
ist. Drei Jahre nach dieser Besitz-Einweisung werden 
diese provisorischen Rechtstitel gegen einen definitiven 
Rechtstitel umgetauscht, welchen die texanische Re- 
gierung ertheilt. 

Art. 24. Stossen die bewilligten Landereien auf daran hin- 
fliessende Gewasser so sind die Colonisten verpflichtet 
einen Durchgangs-Weg zu gestatten, dessen Breite der 
Ortsgebrauch bestimmt. 

Ebenso sind sie verpflichtet, die zum Strassen- und 
Canal-Bau und zu anderen, das allgemeine Beste 
anstrebenden Bauten erforderliche Landereien ab- 
zulassen. 

Nach Umstanden geschehen diese Abtretungen um- 
sonst oder gegen Vergiitung. Utnsousf namlich, 
wenn diese Arbeiten in den drei ersten Jahren nach 
der Besitz-Einweisung und auf nicht angebauten, 
oder nicht bebauten Landereien unternommen wer- 
den ; gegen Vergiitung, wenn diese Arbeiten nach 
jenen drei ersten Jahren unternommen werden, 



German Element in Texas 209 

Oder wenn sie angebaute oder bebaute Landereien 
begreifen. 
Diese Abtretungen gegen Vergiitung haben statt 
gegen gerechte und vorausgehende Schadloshal- 
tung und geniass deng esetzlichen Erfordernissen. 

Art. 25. Die Verausserung der bewilligte Landereien durch 
die Einwanderer, kann — gemass besonderer Ueberein- 
kunft — nur erst nach Ablauf eines Zeitraumes von 
fiinf Jaliren, vom Tage der Besitz-Anweisung an ge- 
rechnet, Platz greifen. 

Art. 26. Nichterfiillung der vorbemerkten Bedingungen 
zieht den Verlust der Rechte der Colonisten auf die 
ihnen bewilligten Grundstiicke und die darauf rulienden 
\^ortheile und Privilegien nach sich. 

Art. 2y. Einwanderer, welche aus der Colonic nach Europa 
zuriickzukehren beabsichtigen sollten, werden stets 
Aufnahme auf den Fahrzeugen des Vereins finden ; es 
werden alsdann die Kosten der Riickfalirt nach demsel- 
ben Massstabe berechnet wie jene der Hinreise. 

Art. 28. Es werden diese Statuten — erforderlichen Falls — 
der texanischen Regierung zur Genehmigung vorgelegt 
werden. 

Art. 29. Es wird die Colonial-Direction, die einzig und 
allcin das Wohl ihrer Colonisten bei alien ihren Ein- 
richtungen anstrebt. eine Wittwen- und Waisen-Ver- 
sorgungs-Anstalt in's Leben rufen, sobald die Seelen- 
zahl der Colonic einen voraussichtlich giinstigen Er- 
folg garantirt. Sie wird bei deren Verwaltung die 
Colonisten selbst betheiligten. 

Art. 30. Urn den V'erkehr des Colonisten mit dem Vater- 
lande und umgekehi t des letztern mit der Colonic nach 
Kraften zu erleichtcrn. wird die Direction ein Post- 
Sicherheits-Bureau organisiren. Sie wird sich zu diesem 
Ende mit der Post-Verwaltung der \'ereinigten Staaten 



210 German Ekmeut in Tccvas 

in Neu-Orleans und niit einem angesehenen Hand- 
lungshause daselbst in Beziehung sctzten. 
Art. 31. Der Verein wird Vorrathshauser einrichten, vvorin 
die Cclonisten nacli der Erndte ein gewisses unbedeu- 
tendes Quantum an Getreide einliefern, und woraus 
dann bei Misserndten oder bei besondern Ungliicks- 
fallen, welche einzelne Familien trifft, die nothigen 
Vorrathe, unentgeldlich verabfolgt werden. 



APPENDIX D. 

Constitution of the Verein.* 

General Statut fur die Colonial-Niederlassungen des 

Vereins. 

ERSTES CAPITEL. 

Verwaltung. 
Art I Die Landereien, nach welchen der Verein die Ein- 
wanderung richtet, nehmen den Titel Colonial-Nieder- 
lassungen an. , , 1 
Es wird die General-Versammlung den jeder dersel- 
ben zu verleihenden Namen bestimmen. 
Art. 2. Es vverden diese Niederlassungen im Namen des 
Vereins verwaltet; jede hat cine besondere Verwaltung. 
Es besteht die Direction jeder solchen Niederlassung : 

1. Aus einem Director und 

2. Aus einem Rathe von fiinf Personen. 

Alle werden von dem Comite der Directoren be- 
stellt. Den Vorsitzz im Directorial-Rathe hat 
der Director. Im Falle des Absterbens oder 
des Verhindertseins des Directors riickt der 
zum voraus durch das Comite der Directoren 
bestellte Vice-Director interimistisch an des- 
sen Stelle. 
Art. 3. Der Colonial-Rath wird zusammengesetzt : 

1. Aus einem Seelsorger, 

2. Aus einem Arzt, 

3. Aus einem Civil-Ingenieur. 

4. Aus einem Rechnungsfiihrer, und 

5. Aus dem Handels-Agenten des Vereins. 



•Handbuch, pp. 82-95. 



212 German Element in Texas 

Art. 4. Es ist die Dauer der Functionen der Colonial- 
Agenten nicht bestimmt ; das Comite der Directoren 
normirt die des Directors; sie kann — je nachdem es das 
Interesse des Vereins erheischt — abgekiirzt oder ver- 
langert werden. 

Art. 5. Es sind die Gehalte des Directors und der Agetnen 
entweder fixe oder proportionelle ; Art und Betrag der- 
selben setzt das Comite der Directoren fest. 

Art. 6. Der Colonial-Director verwaltet allein die seiner 
Oberaufsicht anvertraute Niederlassung, ihm liegen 
alle Verwaltungshandlungen ob. Die Agenten und 
Angestelllten der Niederlassung stehen unter dessen 
unmitttelbarer Aufsicht, er setzt sie ab, er setzt sie pro- 
visorisch, so wie auch im Falle einer Erledigung, sei 
es im Administrativ-Dienste, sei es in jenem der Di- 
rection, unter der Auflage diese Absetzungen und Er- 
nennungen durch das Comite der Direstoren bestatigen 
zu lassen. 

Er ist verpflichtet den delegirten Director binnen 
drei Monaten davon in Kenntniss zu setzen. 

Art. 7. Der Rechnungsfiihrer verwaltet die Casse, iiber- 
wacht den Vollzug der Befehle des Directors und con- 
trasignirt alle Acte der Verwaltung. Er ist Secretair 
des Directorial-Rathes. 

Art. 8. Er macht dem Directorial-Ratb die Vorschlage und 
hat bei der Abstimmung dariiber berathende Stimme. 
Der Secretair des Directorial-Rathes fiihrt ein Regis- 
ter iiber die Antrage, er bemerkt dabei die Ver- 
werfung oder Annahme derselben. 
Es fiihrt iiberdies die Direction ein Tagebuch iiber 

ihre Arbeiten und Amtshandlungen. 
Alle drei Monate wird ein summarischer Auszug aus 
dem Register der Antrage und aus dem Tagebuch 
der Directoren eincfeschickt. 



German Element in Te.ra.^ 213 

ZWEITKS CAPITEL. 

Fond-Inventarium. 
Art g Der ieder Colonial-Xiederlassung bestimmte I-ond 
■ wird durch die General-Versammlung des Vereins fest- 

^^eT bestimmt der JahresAoranschlag die Ausgabe. 
ver-lichen mit jedem der muthmasslichen Einnah- 
meS. die in die Colonial-Casse jeder Niederlas- 
sune; einzuschieszende Summe. 
Das Comite der Directorcn bezeichnet diejenigen 
finanziellen Anstalten der vereinigten btaaten 
Nordamerikas, zu wclchen die Colonial-Direction 
sich in Beziehung gesetzt hat. 
Art lo. Urn den Verkehr der Ansiedler mit diesen Anstalt- 
'en zu erleichtern. werden Anweisungen auf den In- 
haber lautend geschaffen, gemass § 8 der Statuten des 
Vereins. Es werden diese Anweisungcn als gangbare 
Munze angesehen und als solche in den Verems-Cassen 
angenommen. oder gegen Tratten auf ein Monat Sich 
auf die Centrale-Casse des X'ereins in Europa. auf 
Verlaneen des Inhabers unigetauscht. 
Art II Alle drei Monate lasst der Colonial-Director eine 
Aufnahme des Cassenbestandes so wohl, als der Aus- 
crabe anfertioen und in jedem Jahre am 31- Decernber 
werden alle^Rechnungen abgeschlossen. Es wird zu 
derselben Epoche durch des Directors Fursor-e em Inven- 
tarium uber den Vermogenstand jeder Niederlassung 
aufgcnommen. . 

Im Monat August jedes Jahres entwirft der Colonial- 
Director einen \'oranschlag uber Einnahme und 
Ausgabe der seiner Oberaufsicht anvcrtrauten 
Niederlassungen fiir das folgende Jahr, urn den- 
selben der Genehmigung des Directonal-Comites 
vorzulegen. 
Es werden alle diese Urkunden. jede zu ihrer /eit. 
dem Comite der Directoren eingesandt. 



214 German Element in Texas 

DRITTES CAPITEL. 

Anordnung der Arbeiten. 

Art. 12. Unmittelbar nach seiner Ankunft an Ort und Stelle 

lasst der Director, falls dies nicht schon friiher ge- 

schehen ist, den Plan der Landereien aiifnehmen, auf 

welchen die Colonial-Niederlassung zu griinden ist. Es 

werden diese Landereien in Loose von 640 Acres einge- 

theilt; jedes Loos erhalt eine Ordnungs-Nummer. 

Dem Director liegt es ob, die tauglichste Stelle zur 

Anlegung einer Stadt und von Dorfern ausfindig 

zu machen, er besorgt die Verloosung der Bau- 

platze, nachdem er das Gutachten des Directorial- 

Comites eingeholt hat. 

Er lasst Vertheidigungs-Anstalten auffiihren, wie er 

solche zur Sicherheit der Ansiedler nothig erachtet. 

Art. 13. Es setzt sich der Director, Namens des Vereins in 

direkte Beziehung zu der Regierung und deren Agen- 

ten, beziiglich aller das Colonial-Interesse beriihrenden 

Einrichtungen. 

VIERTES CAPITEL. 

Einweisung der Einwander. 
Art. 14. Bei Ankunft der Einwanderer am Landungsplatz 
werden dieselben unmittelbar der Colonial-Niederlas- 
sung zugewiesen ; Wagen werden zur Verfiigung der 
Frauen und Kinder gestellt und dienen zugleich zum 
Transport der Effecten der Einwanderer. 

Die Direction wird Fiirsorge tragen, vom Anlan- 

dungspunkte bis zur Colonic, fiir Ernahrung der 

Ankommlinge zu sorgen. 

Art. 15. L^m den Einwanderern Unterkunft wahrend der 

Nacht zu verschaffen, werden Zelte aufgeschlagen, bis 

sie ihre Wohnungen .beziehen konnen. 

Art. 16. In der Colonial-Niederlassung angekommen wird 

jede Familie in den Besitz ihres Landereien — Looses 



Gcnnaii Element iu Tiwas 215 

eingewiesen; die Nummer dcr Reihenfolge in den Reg- 
istern des Vercins, unter wclcher er ingetragen worden 
ist, entspricht der Nummer des Looses, welches ihm 

gehort. 

Ein liber diese Einweisung aufgenommener \ er- 
balpro/.ess constatirt die Besitz-Einvveismig; es 
giebt derselbe Verbalprozess zugleich an, of dutch 
des Vereins Fiirsorge auf das dem Emwanderer 
iiberwiesenen Loose Gebaulichkeiten aufgefuhrt 
sind. 
\n 17 So weit Zeit und Umstande es erlauben, Idsst die 
Direction GebauHchkeiten auffiihren ; es werdcn diese 
Gebauhchkeiten nach einem Maasstabe und m der Art 
ausgefiihrt, dass ihr Kostenbetrag nicht fl. 60 uber- 
steigt. 
Art 18 Der Taglohn der Arbeiter, welche im Dienste des 
Vereins in den Colonial-Niederlassungen verdendet 
werden, vvird durch die Direction festgesetzt; es vvird 
dieser Taglohn jede W'oche in Anweisungen auf den 
Empfanger lautend, wovon Art. 10 spricht, wler durch 
Lieferungen bezahlt. 

FUENFTES CAPITEL. 

Beziehungen der Ansiedler zu der Direction. 
-\rt iq Es verschafft die Direction jedem Ansiedler ent- 
'weder ein fertig gebautes Hans oder die Matenalien 
zur Auffiihrung eines solchen ; sie giebt ihm die Mittel 
zur Umzaunung und Anbauung von 15 Acres Landes; 
so wie die zur landwirthschaftlichen Emnchtung er- 
forderlichen Ocb.sen. Kiihe und Pferde. 

Es werden alle diese Lieferungen jedem Ansiedler 

vorschussweise gemacht. 

^rt 20 Tedem Ansiedler wird eine eigene Rechnung in den 

Re^istern der Colonial-Direction eroffnet, es werden 

ihm darin alle Vorschiisse zur Last geschrieben. welche 

ihm— sci es unter welcher Benennung cs immer woUe— 



216 German Element in Terras 

geleistet worden sind. Interessen fiir das erste Jahr 
werden ihm keine bercchnet. 

Die Riickzahlung findet zur Erndtezeit statt oder 
auch fruher, wenn es der Ansiedler so vorziehen 
sollte ; es nimmt die Direction von dem Schuldner 
Felderzeugiiisse nach dem laufenden Preise an 
Zahlungsstatt an. 
Art. 21. Es haftet der Direction fiir diese Vorschiisse das 
Eigenthum der Schuldner. 

SECHSTES CAPITEL. 

Politischer Zustand der Ansiedlungen. 

Art. 22. Es sind die Colonial-Niederlassungen so wohl als 
die Ansiedler den Gesetzen von Texas unterworfen. 

Art. 23. Um den Vollzug dieser Gesetze sowohl, als die 
Unterdriickung von Verbrechen iind Vergehen zu 
sichern, und um zugleich Anstande und Streitigkeiten, 
welche sich zwischen den Ansiedlern untereinander 
oder zwischen ihnen und dem Yereine erheben konnten, 
auszugleichen und zu schlichten, wir die Colonial-Di- 
rection bei der Regierung die Anstellung von Richtern, 
die Herstellung compenter Gerichte, Ernennung und 
Installation einer Local-Bchorde, alles entnommen aus 
dem Personal der Ansiedlung selbst, beantragen. 

Art. 2.1. Die Direction wird es sich angelegen sein lassen, 
regelmassige Civilstands-Register zu eroffnen, Ge- 
burts-, Trau- und Sterb-Register aufzulegen. 

Art. 25. Es werden — im allgemeinen Interesse — alle mann- 
lichen Ansiedler vom 17. bis 50. Jahre eine Stadt-Miliz 
bilden, um fiir die Sicherheit von Personen und Eigen- 
thum zu wachen. 

Die Direction iiberwacht deren Organization den 
texanischen Gesetzten entsprechend. 

Art. 26. Eine Zeitung fiir Handel und Askerbau, wird — 
wenn erst die Bevolkerung zahlreich genug ist — alle 



German Element in Teocas 217 

allgemeinen unci Sender- Intcressen der Niederlassung 
besprechen ; sie wird die Ansiedler iiber ihre Pflichten 
als Ackerbauer und Burger aufklaren. 

SIEBENTES CAPITEL. 

Gemeinnutzige Anstalten. 
Art. 27. Der "Verein — unter Fiirsorge der Direction — wird 
offcntliche Anstalten in's Leben rufen, welche das 
Gemeinwohl bedingt. 

Sie vverden sich nach der Seelenzabl und dem Be- 
diirfniss der Bevolkerung richten. 
Art. 28. Es sind diese Anstalten namentlicb : 

1. Eine Kirche, in welcher der Simultan-Gottes- 

dienst gefeiert wird, so lange die Bevolker- 
ung nicht zahlrcich genug ist, um die Kosten 
der verschiedencn Culten. zu denen sie zahlt 
zu bestreiten. 

Es wird in dieser Beziehung ein Ordnungs- 
Statut entworfen von der Colonial-Direc- 
tion, und bcstatigt von der Regierung, die 
Bedingungen dieser Anordnung fest- 
setzen. 

2. Eine oder mebrere Freiscbulen, wo die Kinder 

beiderlei Gescblechts eine moralische und re- 
ligiose Ausbildung crhalten, es wird ihnen 
darin Untcrricbt ertheilt ini Lesen, Schreiben, 
Rechnen, in der deutschen und englischen 
Spracbe. 

3. Eine Kranken-Verpflegungs-Anstalt, verbun- 

den niit einer Apotbeke. Kranke. die zur Auf- 
nabme gemeldet werden, werden darin unent- 
geldlich aufgenommen und sollen dort alle 
nioglicbe Heil- und Linderungs-Mittel finden. 

4. Das Haus der ColonialDirecton, wo der Colon- 

ial-Ratb seinen Sitz babeii wird, wo sicb die 
Arcbive der Colonial-Xiederlassungen und 



218 German Element in Texas 

provisorisch das Civilstands-Bureau der Nied- 
erlassung befinden wird. 

ACHTES CAPITEL. 

Vorkehrungen den Handel betreffend. 

Art. 29. Der Verein eroffnet, unter Leitung der Colonial- 
Direction, ein i\Iagazin oder einen Bazar fiir alle Ver- 
brauchs-Gegenstande und Arbeitsgerathschaften, 
welche das tagliche Bediirfniss der Ansiedler erheischt. 
Die Direction wird es sich streng angelegen sein las- 
sen, dass ihre Magazine stets die zweckentsprech- 
enden Vorrathe, wie solche das Bediirfniss der 
Bevolkerung mit sich bringt. darbieten. 

Art. 30. Sie erzieht Vieh, um gute Racen herzustellen und 
den Ansiedlern den erforderlichen Viehstand zu ver- 
schaffen. 

Die Preise von Waaren und Vieh werden stets im 
Einklang mit dem Curse des zunachst gelegenen 
Marktes gehalten werden. 

Art. 31. Sie nimmt — sei es auf laufende Rechnung, sei es 
gegen Baarkauf und nach iibereingekommenen Preise 
— alle Ackerbau und industriellen Erzeugnisse der An- 
siedler an. 

Es werden die laufenden Rechnungen jedes Jahr 
nach der Erndte vorgestellt. 

Art. 32. Die nach dem crsten Jahre des Aufenthaltes in der 
Niederlassung den Ansiedler gemachten Vorschiisse 
werden mit 5 Proc. verzinset. 

Art. 33. Es bezieht die Colonial-Direction alle zum Bediirf- 
nisse ihrer Niederlassungen erforderlichen Waaren ent- 
weder direkt aus Deutschland oder aus Amerika ; 
ebenso befordert sie nach der oder jeder anderen Ge- 
gend die Aclcerbau-Erzeu'inisse, welche sie durch 
Tausch oder Kauf erworben hat. 



Genu an IJicmcut in Te.vas 219 

NKUNTES CAPITEL. 

Industrielle Anstalten. 
Art. 34. Je nachdem es das Bediirfniss der Niederlassungen 
mit sich bringt, werden industrielle Anstalten in's 
Leben gerufen ; es setzt die Direction den Wirkungs- 
kreis jeder derselben fest und legt dem Comite der Di- 
rectoren den Plan und die Mittel zur Ausfiihrung vor. 
Jedenfalls wird jede Niederlassung besitzen : 
Eine Fruchtmiihle, 
Eine Schneidemiihle, 

Eine Miihle, um die Baumwolle zu reinigen. 
Art. 35. Die mit Leitung dieser Anstalten beauftragten 
Agenten und Angestellten, sind gemass Art. 6 der 
Oberaufsicht des Directors unterworfen. 
Art. 36. Wenn die Colonial-Direction, nachdem sie das Gu- 
tachten des Comites der Directoren eingeholt hat, 
Srassen und Caniile anlegt, Briicken baut und anders 
das Gemeinwohl anstrebende Verbesserungen vor- 
nimmt, so wird sie nach Art. 24 des Colonial-Statuts, 
riicksicht der Berechtigung der Landereien richten. 

ZEHNTES CAPITEL. 

Verfiigungen beziiglich der Landereien. 

Art. 37. Es werden des Vereins Landereien in der Art 
eingetheilt; dass diejenigen. welche er nicht umsonst 
verleiht, zwischen diejenigen zu liegen kommen, welche 
verliehen und in Anbau genommen sind. 

Art. 38. Das Comite der Directoren, auf Vorschlaq: des 
Colonial-Directors, setzt den Preis der Landereien und 
jenen der Bauplatze der Stadte und Dorfer. die Art 
der Zahlung, die Bedingungen der Verkaufe und den 
Zeitpunkt, wann dieselbe beginnen sollen, fest. 

Art. 39. Es finden die Verkaufe im Namen des Vereins 
durch den Colonial-Director statt. es werden die dess- 
falligen Urkunden (lurch den Rechnungsfiihrer con- 
trasignirt. 



220 German Element in Teams 

ELFTES CAPITEL. 

Allgemeine Verfi'igungen. 

Art. 40. Wenn der Verein mehrere Niederlassungen be- 
griindet hat. wird er einen General-Commissair bestel- 
len und diesen mit der Controlle aller Niederlassungen 
und mit jener der Wirksamkeit jeder einzelnen beauf- 
tragen. 

Art. 41. Es werden vorstehenden Bestimmungen alle nothig 
erachtete Verbesseriingen, nach Genehmigung des 
Comites der Directoren, hinzugefiigt werden. 



Petition of Count Carl von Castell to the Duke of Nassau. 

(A. D. No. St. M. 2674.) 
Dem Herren Grafen Carl von Castell zu Mainz wird auf 
sein bei seiner Durchlaucht dem Herzog. eingereichtes Ge- 
such um Genehmigung der Bildung einer Gesellschaft, 
welche den Zweck hat, den in den Freistatt Texas einwan- 
dernden Deutschen Hiilfe und Schutz zu gewahren, eroff- 
net, dass Seine Herzogliche Durchlaucht weder bei der 
Bildung dieser Gesellschaft noch bei deren Versammlung 
ira Herzogthum etwas zu errinern gefunden, und die Ge- 
nehmigung deshalb gerne ertheilt haben. 

Wiesbaden, den 3. Mai, 1844. 
Herzoglich Nassauisches Staats Ministerium. 

In Auftrag des Staats-Ministers der Ministerial Refer- 
endar : 

unterz : Geheimrath. \'ollpracht. 
Vrt : Stein. 



APPENDIX E. 



•ins -Ein Handbnch fiir dcutsche Auswandercrr Bremen, 
1846. />/>. 63 //. 
Uehcr den Verein znm Schntze dcntscher Eimvandercr in 
Texas. 

Im Fruhling des Jahres 1844 brachten die 6ffentlichen 
Blatter nachfolgende Bekanntmachung : 

Ein Verein hat sich gebildet. dessen Zweck es 1st, die 
deutsche Auswanderung so viel als moglich nach einem ein- 
zigen, gunstig gelegenen Punkte hinzuleiten, die Ausvvan- 
derer auf der weiten Reise und in der neiien Heimath zu 
unterstvitzen und nach Kraften dahin zu wirken dass ihnen 
jenseits des Meeres eine neue Heimath gesichert werde. 

Der Verein erlasst diese Bekanntmachung nicht m der 
Absicht, Geldkrafte fur sein Unternehmen zu gewmnen; 
das Ge;chafts-Kapital ist bereits voUstandig gezeichneL 
Allein im Bewusstsein des guten Zweckes 1st er es dem 
PubHkum und sich selbst schuldig, die Grunde, welche den 
Verein in's Leben gerufen. die Art und Weise wie er eine 
Aufgabe zu losen hofft und die Grundsatze, die ihn dabei 
leiten, offen darzulegen. 

Der Verein will den Trieb zur Auswanderung wederan- 
regen, noch entschuldigen. Genug. das Bedurfmss besteht 
emmal, und lasst sich leider eben so wenig ^^:5?1^"?^^";;^ 
e. moglich ist. jenem immer lebendigeren Tnebe Einbalt 
7v thun Vielfaltige Ursachen wirken dabei zusammen ; die 
Verdrangung der Handarbeit durch das Maschinenvvesen 
die grossen fast periodischen Unfalle. die den Handel 
heimsuchen, die zunehmende Verarmung erne Folge der 
Uebervolkerung und des Mangels an Arbeit; endlich ^^ohl 
auch der geruhmte Reichthum des Bodens im neucn Lande 



222 German Elcmcni in Tc.vas 

und die mancb.mal belohnte, oft getausclite Hoffiuing auf 
ein besseres Seyn und Wirken jenseits der Meere. 

Unter solchen Verhaltnissen miissten die Auswanderer in 
der Tbat einem besseren Loose entgegen gehen, wenn sie, 
in wohlgeordneter Masse zusammenhaltend, eine ricbtige 
Leitung und einen wirksamen Schutz in der Fremde fan- 
den. Und somit ist die Nothwendigkeit, wie der Zweck des 
Vereins von selbst gegeben : er will es versuchen, die Aus- 
wanderung zu regeln, und zu leiten, damit die Moglicbkeit 
gegeben werde, dass die Deutschen in Amerika eine deutscbe 
Heimath wiederfinden, und aus dem ununterbrocbenen Zu 
sammebange unter sich und mit dem alten Vaterlande ein 
gewerblicher und Handelsverkehr entstebe, der beiden zum 
ir.ateriellen und geistigen Gewinn gereicben muss. Auf diese 
Weise vviinscbt der Verein das Seinige zu tbun zu Deutscb- 
lands Ebre und Wobl beizutragen, um vielleicbt den deut- 
scben Armen eine belohnende Tbatigkeit, dem deutscben 
Gewerbfleiss neue Markte, dem deutscben Seebandel eine 
weitere Ausdebnung dereinst zu eroffnen. 

Nacb langer, sorgfaltiger Priifung hat sicb der Verein 
dafiir entschieden, dass Texas dasjenige Land ist, welcbes 
dem deutschen Auswanderer am besten zusagen mochte. 
Das gesunde Clima. die Fruchtbarkeit des Bodens. der 
Reicbthum seiner Ergeugnisse und die Leicbtigkeit der 
Verbindungen mit Europa baben schon seit langerer Zeit 
eine grosse Zahl von auswanderungslustigen Deutschen 
dahin gezogen, die jedocb, obne Schutz und Schirm, sich 
vereinzelten, und leider oft ganz zu Grunde gingen. Um so 
mehr musste sich die Aufmerksamkeit des Vereins nacb 
diesen Gegenden wenden. Durch erfahrene und des Landes 
kundige Manner hat er das texanische Gebiet bereisen las- 
sen, und so vollstandige Aufschliisse erhalten. dass er mit 
gutem Gewissen und voller Ueberzeugung seine Wahl tref- 
fen konnte. 

Der Verein bat im gesundesten Tbeile jenes Landes ein 
zusammenhangendes noch unbebautes Gebeit von betracht- 



German Element in Te.vas 223 

lichem Umfang erworben, wird dort die Ansiedlung der- 
jenigen Deutschen die das alte X'atcrland verlassen, iiacli 
Kraften befordern, und liierzu die von den Verhaltnisseii 
gebotenen, zweckdienstlichsten i\Iittel anwenden. 

Vor dem Abgang wird jedem Auswanderer eine Strecke 
gutes Landes schriftlich zugesichert, welches er bei seiner 
Ankunft als Geschenk, ohne alle jetzige odor ki'inftige Ver- 
giitung, vom \'ereine erhalt. Dieser Boden, dessen gross- 
erer oder geringerer Flacbenraum sich nach der Grosse der 
Familie richtct, wird freies Eigentbum des Auswanderers, 
sobald er drei Jabre lang aiif seinem Cute gewobnt. Aber 
aiicb vor Ablaiif dieser drei Jabre geboren ibm die Erzeug- 
nisse seines Bodcns, und der Vereiii inacbt weder auf jene, 
nocb auf diesen den geringsten Ansprucb. 

Der Yerein ist ferner dafiir bemiibt, gute und geraumige 
Scbiffe fiir die Uebcrfabrt auszuwablen ; er sorgt dafiir, 
dass es an gesunder. woblfeiler Nabrung nicbt feble. und 
die Reisekosten so gering als moglicb ausfallen. An den 
Landungsplatzen sind bcsondere Agenten damit beauftragt, 
den Auswanderern mit Ratb und Tbat an die Hand zu ge- 
ben ; die Letzeren finden bier Wagen bereit, die sie mit 
ib.rer Habe unentgeldlicb an den Ort ibrer Ansiedlung fiib- 
ren. Auch fiir iiire Bediirfnisse unterweges wird \'orsorge 
getroffen. So wie sie an Ort und Stelle anlangen, wird 
jeder Familie ein eigenes Haus eingeraumt, verstebt sich, 
nur nach dortiger Art aus aufeinander gelegten Balken 
gezimmert ; \'orratbsbauser mit Lebensmitteln, Werkzeugen 
fiir Garten und Ackerbau, Samen und Pflanzen aller Art 
wohl verseben. sichern ihnen Alles, was sie zur Arbeit und 
ziim Leben bediirfen : cbenso finden sie die notbigen Haus- 
thiere, als Pflugocbsen. Pferde. Kiibe, Scbweine, Schafe, 
scbon an Ort und Stelle. Alles dies wird ihnen zu einem 
viel geringeren Preise verkauft, als die namlichen Gegen- 
stande auf den nacbstgelegenen Markten zu haben sind. 
Solcbe Auswanderer. deren Betragen und Tbatigkeit sich 
besonders bewahrt, erbalten von Seiten der \'erwaltung 



224 German Element in Texas 

Vorschiisse, die von der ersten Ernte zuriickzuzahlen sind. 

Den Auswanderern steht es frei, die Erzeugnisse ihres 
Ackerbaues und ihrer Gewerbsthatigkeit an die Magazine 
des Vereins zu veraussern. 

Fur sittliche und religiose Erziehung der Kinder zu sor- 
gen, betrachtet der Verein als eine heilige Pflicht ; er wird 
daher, je nach den Bediirfnissen der Bevolkerung, Kirchen 
und Schulen in der Kolonie errichten lassen. Er wird nicht 
minder fiir die Anstellung von Aerzten und Apothekern, 
so wie fiir Griindung eines Krankenhauses Sorge tragen. 

Eine Gemeindeverfassung und eine Gerichtsordnung, 
beide nach dem Vorbilde der in Texas anerkannten eng- 
lischen, werden, sobald es nur thunlich. durch die Verwal- 
tung der Ansiedlungen hergestellt. 

Sollten sich unter den Auswandereren einzelne zur Riick- 
kehr nach Europa bewogen finden, so wird ihnen die Heim- 
fahrt zu den namlichen Preisen, wie die Hinfahrt, auf den 
Schiffen des Vereins zugesichert. 

Der erste Zug von Auswanderern geht im September 
dieses Jahres 1844 ab ; allein schon im Mai werden zwei 
MitgHeder des Vereins nach Texas reisen, umdort Vor- 
bereitungen zur Aufnahme der Auswanderer zu treffen und 
die Verwaltung der Ansiedelungen vorlaufig einzurichten. 

Der Verein wird drei Prozent seiner Einnahme dazu ver- 
wenden, um diirftigen Auswanderern die Ueberfahrt und 
Ansiedekmg zu erleichtern. Vorlaufig jedoch und bis er 
diese Absicht zu wirklichen im Stande ist, kann die Nieder- 
lassung in der Kolonie nur Denjenigen zugestanden wer- 
den, welche die unumganglich erforderlichen Geldmittel 
bcsitzen. 

Der unverheirathete Einwanderer bedarf wenigstens ein 
Capital von 300 Gulden. 

Das Haupt einer nicht zahlreichen Familie ein Capital 
von 600 Gulden. 

Um aber auch einer wenn gleich nur kleinen Anzahl von 
armeren Familien sogleich die Ansiedekmg moglich zu 



German Element in Texas 225 

machen, vvird der Verein — in dem er glaubt, den edlen Ge- 
sinnungen, die man ihm bereits zu erkennen gegeben, da- 
durch am besten entgegen zu kommen — eine Liste zu frei- 
williger Unterzeichnung eroffnen, deren Ertrag ausscliess- 
lich zu diesem Zwecke bestimmt ist. Jahrlich sollen sodann 
die Beitrage und deren Vervvcndung, so wie die Namen der 
Wohlthater in den gelesensten Blattern Deutschlands be- 
kannt gemacht werden. 

Wenn der Verein auf diese Weise, so viel in seinen 
Kriiften stelit, dem Unternehmen einen gliicklichen Erfolg 
zu sichern bemiiht ist, so beruht doch das Gelingen am 
meisten auf der ernsten unverdrossenen Thatigkeit der Aus- 
wanderer selbst. Das neue Vaterland jenseits des Oceans 
wird nur dann gedeihlich emporbliihen, wenn die Deutschen 
auch dort sich bewahren, wie sie stets in der Heimath waren : 
arbeitsam, bcharrlich, treu der guten Sitte und dem Gesetze. 
Darf der Verein auch hieran nicht zweifeln, si wird er doch, 
um nicht das Wohl und Wehe deutscher Landsleute den 
Zufalliekeiten eincs Versuches preiszugeben, im Laufe 
dieses Jahres fiir erste nur ein Hundert und fiinfzig Fa- 
milien zur Uebersiedelung zulassen, und erst dann, wenn 
diese eine wohlgesichcrte Niederlassung gegriindet haben, 
einer weitern Auswanderung mit Rath und That anhanden 
gehen. 

Genauere Aufschliisse und Auskunft jeder Art werden 
auf frankirte briefliche Anfragen ertheilt : 

Zu Mainz bei der Verwaltung des Vereins zum Schutze 
deutscher Einwanderer in Texas. 

Zu Frankfurt a. M. bei Hrn. L. H. Flersheim, Banquier 
des Vereins. 

Gefertigt durch den leitenden Ausschuss des Vereins. 
Mainz, den 9. April 1844. 

(gez.) Fi'trst zu Leiningcn. 

In Verhinderung des Grafen Carl zu Castell : 

Graf an Isenhurg-Mecrhoh. 



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